


Multiverse

by OrionRedde, Shyrstyne



Series: Cometverse [69]
Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Dimension Travel, Multi, Nightmares, hypothetical slightly more than canon-typical violence, low key existentialism
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-05
Updated: 2020-06-07
Packaged: 2021-01-23 17:24:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 23
Words: 47,923
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21323902
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OrionRedde/pseuds/OrionRedde, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shyrstyne/pseuds/Shyrstyne
Summary: In another time, in a another dimension, Lea touches something he wasn't supposed to.The cometverse crew feels the effects.Welcome to the Canonverse Crossover Event.
Relationships: Isa/Lea (Kingdom Hearts)/Original Character(s), Kairi/Riku/Sora (Kingdom Hearts)
Series: Cometverse [69]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1285373
Comments: 173
Kudos: 46





	1. Singularity

**Author's Note:**

> WHEW BOY it has been a while! sorry in advance for the long foreword, but there's a lot to say today.
> 
> First off, sorry for the long delay on this. October hit us like a truck, and having three other writing projects on the side didn't help. we're *still* not done filling holes in this arc, but we decided we'd waited long enough and are pushing ahead anyways because that's just how we roll. The first three chapters are actually old af and required more than a few rounds of editting to bring it up to current canon. it smoothes out further on.
> 
> Secondly! I know the premise of this is a little weird. this is one of those things that started off as a thought experiment ("how different are our cometverse characters from canon?") where we'd throw the two sets of characters into random situations and try to figure out how they'd react. It ended up growing and affecting the rest of cometverse's canon though, so we had to Actually Include it XD
> 
> Third, we're lovingly calling it canonverse, but make no mistake- it's still only our own interpretation of it. We're no nomura after all. Not to mention that as soon as the two universes cross, the butterfly effect takes hold and canonverse automatically becomes an AU. them's just the breaks :P
> 
> Fourth, there are a LOT of moving pieces in this arc, much more than we're really used to, and while we try to give each situation and characters their moment in the spotlight there are almost assuredly stuff we just don't get to. trust me, few things bring me more regret than to know i've missed some Prime Interaction. That being said we ARE non-linear writers, so there's always the chance we'll come back to it later.
> 
> Finally, thanks for sticking with us! The Crossover Event marks the last third of Cometverse as a whole, and it's been a hell of a wild ride. We appreciate the hell out of all our readers and commenters, you guys have made this journey absolutely incredible.

“It wasn’t me!”

It’s the first thing Lea hears, waking up face down on what he immediately realizes is the Radiant Garden’s computer room. It gives him both a horrible sense of déjà vu and a terrible crick in his neck.

Heh. He must be getting old. 

“If you have another explanation for this l would love to hear it.” That voice is Ienzo. Makes sense, the guy practically lives in this place. Doesn’t explain why Lea is here though, or face down on the floor for that matter. Last he could remember he’d been on the couch watching old reruns of bad tv shows with Roxas and Xion, recovering from the last couple days of emotional turmoil. 

He doesn’t like that he doesn’t know how he got here, or where his cubs are. 

“I’m not the computer nerd here, you figure it out!” The argument above him continues heedless of his inner commentary. Something about that second voice feels familiar, but he just can’t quite place it. He can smell a third person in the room, though he doesn’t believe they’ve said anything. It bothers him he can’t immediately tell who, though; everything feels tilted and off balance. 

“He’s awake.” The third presence makes itself known; Aeleus. That also makes sense. He opens his eyes, raises his head, and doesn’t quite comprehend what he sees. 

It’s Ienzo and Aeleus, that much is correct, but the third person in the room throws him for a loop. 

Because it's himself. 

He rubs his eyes, blinks and then rubs them again. He looks at Ienzo. 

“What is this.” Is as eloquent as he can manage apparently. 

" Well, we are still trying to figure that out, actually. A major time space event-“

“Yeah cut the technobabble, I know you know what you’re talking about. Who. Is. That.” He jabs a finger at his double. The tips are quickly becoming black and pointed. He takes a breath and reverses the instinctive shift. Intimidation will not be his friend right now. He thinks only Aeleus noticed though, given the narrowing of his eyes. 

Then again, he always looks like that. Maybe he can play it off as his nail polish; at least he’s wearing black today. 

“I’m Lea. I think the better question is who the fuck are you?” His double retorts. 

_ “I’m _ Lea.” 

“Well we can’t  _ both _ be Lea.” He notices his double is shorter than him by nearly half a foot as they stare each other down. Is he all human? Lea takes an experimental sniff. Yup, all human. Ienzo coughs. 

“Ah, that might actually not be true. I think we might have inadvertently caused a multiversal singularity; we crossed two universes at a highly specific point, allowing for a person to cross that point and end up in the wrong universe.”

A pause. 

“You’re both Lea, but that one is from a different plane of existence.”

“...... not time?” Aeleus speaks. Ienzo shakes his head.

“Possibly, but I don’t believe so; Lea- no not you, how old are you?”

“Twenty nine.”

“Hm, you’re a little older but only by a few years. While it is a possibility I am still inclined to believe time is not a major factor here. Still, we should keep an open mind.” Ienzo nods. Aeleus steps back, his piece said. 

Lea, the one who should still be home watching tv with his cubs, rubs the back of his neck, pulse racing despite a forcibly calm exterior. 

“Okay, fine. What now?” Everything still feels off, like it’s been tilted half a degree to the right and he can’t quite recalibrate. 

“Well we have a working hypothesis, I can do some tests and go from there. I have every hope we can figure out how to return you safely I’m sure.” Ienzo smiles reassuringly. Lea appreciates the optimism because he really just wants to go home. 

And that remains his state for roughly the next hour, poked and prodded and plied with questions. Thankfully, Ienzo sticks to mostly non-personal topics, though he doesn’t know how long that will last. He can practically feel the curiosity bubbling in this other Ienzo to figure out all the differences between their universes. The other him is still hanging out in the corner, and he knows it’s not because he’s interested in the science of it all. 

He knows it’s reconnaissance, learning about the enemy. No hard feelings there, the habit is mutual. 

He taps his fingers against his leg, trying to dispel the restless energy and not quite managing it. Of course he hadn’t taken his ADD meds today, but while he had them on him he wasn’t about to do it in a room of possible hostiles.

“Okay, please walk to the other side of the room.” Ienzo has some gizmo he’s thrown together and is staring at it intently. He does, and waits there. Ienzo fiddles with the dual on the side, and huffs. 

“What are you doing?” The other him asks. Probably more to fill the silence than for any actual want to know. 

“I am trying to isolate the specific energy that this other You gives off. It’s at a slightly different frequency than anything in our universe, and if I can pinpoint its variables I can quite possibly use that to assist in locating the correct universe to send you home to. Perhaps I can even use it to help create the portal device to do so but I’m having trouble honing it in correctly- oh!”

Lea perks up. Oh?

“Oh what?” Both Lea’s say as Ienzo doesn’t answer. 

“I tried to widen the frequency but it appears I widened the range instead.”

“And?” Lea taps his foot, crosses his arms. Get to the point!

Ienzo gestures him over. He’s there in three strides. Ienzo points at the screen on his gizmo. 

“Do you see that dot?”

“Yeah?”

“That’s you. This device is picking up on the difference in wavelength between your universe and ours. Now if you see as I widen the range-“ he twists a dial, and the screen zooms out, revealing six other dots scattered around the array. 

Lea says nothing. 

Another dot blinks into existence.

“While they could be entirely random, I believe it more likely that the transference would have followed the path of least resistance, which I hypothesise would be people with close ties and time spent together. That means-“

“I know what that means.” Lea snaps. He turns away. Stalks to the other side of the room, and then stalks back. He starts to pace, hands clenching and unclenching at his sides.

Who is out there? Stuck in a strange universe with no idea? Were Roxas and Xion still at home on the couch, or were they suddenly flung into a random place with no idea how they got there? What about Comet and Van? Isa? They could have landed in the middle of an ocean, or surrounded by heartless or 

He can hear the distressed whine sitting in his throat as he paces, though he’s not sure if it’s low enough for human ears to hear yet. He forces it back. Tries to think, plan, maybe-

“Geez, would you chill out?”

The other him snarks as he walks by. Lea can’t help snapping at him, pulling a partial shift to get the full effect of snout and sharp canines snapping shut just in front of the other lea’s nose. He doesn’t pause, too angry to stop the words tumbling out at first. 

“Chill? Chill?!  _ Fuck you _ that is my family out there!” He snarls, lips pulling back to accentuate sharp fangs. The other him looks absolutely stunned. Moreso than he expected. 

“What..  _ are _ you?”

Oh right Aeleus. Who now has his tomahawk out and pointed at him. Talk about overreacting. He hadn’t even nipped him.

“Fascinating!” Ienzo just looks excited, the little nerd. He steps forward, curiosity all over his face, and then Aeleus is between them, weapon brandished. Lea snarls at Aeleus, taking the threat for what it is, his other self below him hasn’t moved. A phone buzzes. No one reacts.

“Fuck this.” He turns around and stalks out of the room. He deshifts, trying to shake out the headache building behind his eyes. His shifting is getting better, and a partial one doesn’t have the same kick to it, but whatever else is going on in this place he feels like he’s regressed several months shift-pain wise.

He’s too angry to realize at first he has no way to find any of the people he needs to look for, that he’s left a lot of unanswered questions in his wake, that he shouldn’t be wandering around a foreign universe without caution. 

He stalks quickly through the castle, relieved to find it mostly familiar. He goes down, until he’s only two floors from ground floor, before taking a sharp turn. 

Several precision jumps and a crawl space later, he finds his favourite hiding spot. He briefly considers that the other Lea probably knows about it too, especially with the lack of dust, but right now he’s too scattered to care. Everything is familiar but not quite familiar enough, and he can’t quite shake the feeling that it’s his fault somehow that his family might be in danger and far from home. 

He paces, and then sighs. 

“I always was my own worst enemy.”   
  
  
  


Isa wakes up on a bed of flowers, feeling disconnected and strange, and his scar ache’s in a way it hasn’t in years.

He apologizes to the owner of the garden, who knew both his name and asked if he was okay as ‘hooliganry was not something he partook in usually’, despite Isa being sure he’d never met the man in his life. 

He’s in Radiant Garden. He pushes aside the numb distaste that he’s somehow ended up here of all places, sure he’s going to regret repressing that later, but not wanting to deal with it now. What is curious though is that last he could recall he’d been in Twilight Town considering calling Lea when he’d belatedly remembered that he was doing movie night with Roxas and Xion. He walks down the street, no goal in mind but to stimulate his thoughts. The streets are familiar, but small things catch his attention as off, and the world feels somewhat odd somehow. Tilted slightly. 

Though that’s just as likely to be a result of finding himself in the last place he ever wanted to be again as anything else.

“Excuse me.” He looks up, and is greeted by a familiar x shaped scar and blue hair. 

Though it is only familiar in that he recognizes it as the face he sees in the mirror every morning.

“I think something has happened.” He says slowly. His mind whirls, any explanation he could come up with inspected and rejected as quickly as he can conjure them. 

“Evidently.” His other returns. “You are alone?”

“I woke alone, far from where I should be. I know not what else.”

“We should head for the castle. Ienzo and Even may be able to ascertain more.”

“Agreed.”   
  
  
  


You’re out in the badlands, sparring with Vanitas. 

You’d been hesitant at first - you know he has a history with this place - but he’d been determined that this was where he wanted the two of you to test your skills together.

It’s mostly in fun, you’d shown him a couple of disabling strangleholds, he had shown you his teleporting trick. You can’t replicate it, but you’ve at least got a pretty good idea how it works now.

Something feels off, though. 

You assume you both sat down for lunch and accidentally went for a nap instead, but you don’t remember actually doing so. Your scars ache and the lightning under your skin itches in a way it hasn’t in years. Vanitas is already on his feet, scanning the horizon. 

“You feel that?” You ask. You’re not sure what it is you’re feeling if you’re being honest, but he knows what you’re talking about anyways. He nods, pointing out on the horizon. 

“Look.” You do, you see nothing. It takes you to realize that’s the point. The pockmarks and craters left behind from your spar are gone, and there’s a jutting craig of rock still standing that you know for fact Vanitas had thrown his Keyblade through earlier. 

“I have a bad feeling about this.” You mutter. Everything feels off. It’s uncomfortably similar to a cross between anxiety and dissociation. You shake it off. 

“Cmon, Van,” you say. You don’t know where the lunch boxes went. You don’t bother looking. “I think we need to check some things out.”

Vanitas tramps behind you, and you can just barely hear him mutter, “This better not be fucking time travel.”   
  
  


Roxas and Xion wake up in wonderland. 

They both agree that no matter the circumstances, they need to find the closest gummi ship.

Roxas catches sight of an Emerald Serenade exactly once before taking off running in the other direction, Xion in hand. 

They have the audacity to laugh at him.    
  
  
  


“You say he took off?” Isa isn’t surprised. Lea never liked being prodded. 

“He turned into... some kind of beast.” The native Lea says. 

“Are all people in your world able to do that?” Ienzo asks, naked curiosity on his face. Isa shakes his head. 

“Only some. Radiant Garden had a fairly high ratio of moonbeasts to humans before the fall, though most of them didn’t survive. Lea and Kairi are the only ones I know of who did.” He expects to be asked about Kairi. He is not. The awkward silence following her mention tells him more than perhaps it meant to. 

“Regardless, we should find the missing Lea. The best way to get you all home is going to be getting you all in one place,” Ienzo states. Isa nods. 

“Certainly. Do you have a mirror?”

There are confused glances, but a small pocket mirror is produced. It will do. 

Or so he thinks. His attempt at a scrying is met with mostly fuzzy images and the faint feeling of regret. Thankfully he knows those spires well, and doesn’t need a clearer vision to know how to get there. 

“I will go get him,” he says, closing the mirror and handing it back. 

“You know where he is? How?” Ienzo asks. 

“I am the diviner. I used the mirror to show me where he is. It doesn’t appear to work as well here, however.”

“Interesting,” his counterpart muses. Isa turns to leave the room, and the other Isa follows. 

“Is this a power you have always had?”

“Yes. You do not?”

“No. The diviner of my title was more metaphorical.”

“And the lunar?”

Silence. 

“Duly noted.”

They walk in silence for a while, until emerging onto a balcony on the second level. The foreign Isa holds up a hand to still the other. 

“Wait here.” And with that he leaps up and over a parapet wall. The Isa remaining hears an undignified squawk that is undoubtedly Lea, and since they just left  _ his _ Lea in another part of the castle, it must be the visiting Lea. 

He listens. 

“Stars above this place is not big enough- wait, how did you find me?”

“You have another partner named Comet, three cubs, and you used to come up here to brood all the time when we were apprentices.”

“Isa!” There’s a rustle and a faint wheeze. Isa wonders who initiated the hug. He would dissect the rest of it later. 

He wonders how long it took them to reach that level of comfort with each other once again. He wonders if it means him and his own Lea might reach it themselves one day.

“Stars above, you  _ asshole _ . Do you know where they are?”

“I have not checked. Scrying here does not have the same clarity as it does back home.”

“Dammit. Okay. I just. Gotta get my shit together and then we’ll go find them.”

“Lea.”

“What are you doing let’s go.”

“I don’t need to be a moonbeast to practically smell the stress coming off you. Sit.”

“I’ll feel better when I have the rest of my family again.” There’s a growl in his voice that wasn’t there before. 

“Sit down or I will sit on you. You are of no help if you are snapping at every wrong word.”

“He was being a dick.”

“At least he doesn’t bite people that disagree with him like a child.”

“Oh fuck off.”

“No.”

Isa listens to light scuffling. 

“I hate you.”

“You don’t.”

Silence. 

“Think they’re okay?” It’s so quiet he barely catches it. 

“Of course.” 

“I don’t know why I’m so stressed about this. We’ve been through worse.”

“Without hearts, and without the connections we have now. And I.. well, we got used to peace, didn't we? We’ve built lives, relationships, because we finally had the time and opportunities to do so. Things changed.  _ We _ changed.”

Another pause. Someone sniffs. 

“You’re not the only one who’s scared, Lea.”

“.... Thanks, Isa. I’m sorry this happened. I know you didn’t want to come back here.”

“For you I will endure it. Five minutes. Then we go and figure things out.”

The Isa waiting leans against the wall and pulls out his phone. There’s a garbled message from a number he doesn’t recognize. 

How odd.   
  
  


They’ve commandeered a gummi ship. Roxas is pretty sure it’s one of Scrooge’s, but it doesn’t really matter. He’ll return it. Eventually. Maybe.

He hears a humming behind him, some tune only vaguely familiar to him. He has to wrest his thoughts together, pulling a shell out of his pocket and feeling its texture, trying to remember who might be singing. The name filters into his head, like ground glass pouring through a sieve. He calls out. 

“Hey Xion, you okay back there?” He gets a slightly echoey giggle in response. He’s not sure if it’s because everything’s  _ weird _ right now or if it’s just a bad day. Xion probably doesn’t know, either. 

“Xion. Xiiiion. Xioooooon. It’s not a word is it.”

“No it’s not. It’s your name.” He wishes he wasn’t piloting right now. This works better when he can reach out and touch them. 

“My name? Who am I?”

“You’re Xion. My friend.” He reaches a hand out anyway, hopeful. Another hand brushes it. 

“That’s right. I like you. You’re my friend. We’re going to find Axel now, right?”

He nods, looking over, relieved to see a face smiling back. 

“That’s right. And then we’re going home.”


	2. The Hunt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lea and Isa start tracking down some lost family members

The plan is this: they take Ienzo and his gadget, along with the native Lea (no one asks, but both Lea and Isa are all too aware that the native Lea is definitely there as a guard), in a gummi ship and make a circle outwards, hunting down the errant energy signals. Ienzo’s device can only narrow down the search to various worlds however, which means Isa will attempt to narrow the radius with his scrying, though there’s only so much he can do when they don’t know who is where and his abilities limited as they are. 

Their first stop is Destiny Islands. 

“It always seems to come back to this place, doesn’t it?” Lea mutters as the ship is brought in to land. Isa hums in agreement. 

They’re greeted by Riku, who likely saw the ship coming. Lea and Isa have already stepped off the ship before realizing their problem. 

“Damn we should’ve gotten a better history of this universe. The cubs are easy, but for the regular crowd how are we gonna tell with is which?” Lea mutters to Isa, who gives him only a wry look before stepping forward. 

“What type of were’s are your date mates?” He asks, and Riku tilts his head in confusion for only a moment before his face explodes into a blush. He doesn’t even have the chance to answer before Isa turns away. 

“Sorry, wrong person.”

“Wait!”

Isa turns his head, waiting expectantly. 

“I’m not who you’re looking for but… Come with me.” 

He leads them across the beach and towards a small cave entrance covered by the thick island foliage. Riku has to stoop slightly to get in, but Lea and Isa have to bend nearly double. Thankfully it widens as they get further in, and as the cave opens up properly Riku calls out

“Hey, there’s someone here to see you.”

There’s someone with familiar red fur crouched in one corner, inspecting childish rock drawings on the wall, and they look up as the group enters. 

“Kairi!” Lea bursts out excitedly. It’s certainly her, as she’s in full fox form at the moment. Her ears perk up at her name and she’s on her feet bouncing into Lea’s open arms before he can say anything else. 

“Oh, I’m so glad to see you guys! I don’t know what happened and everything’s weird here!”

“You and me both, mischief.” Lea pats her head. “Apparently we can add dimension hopping to our long list of strange things we’ve done in our lives now.”

“Can we get home? Where are the others? Do we know who’s all here?” She asks hurriedly. 

“Not yet, we’re working on it, that’s why we’re here, and no.” Isa answers. Riku turns to leave the cavern, muttering something about giving them time to catch up. Kairi bolts under Lea’s arm to grab him first though.

“Riku! I-” She pauses, suddenly awkward. “I’m sorry. You know. For before. And it’ll be okay, I promise. If Sora said he would fix it he will.” 

He gives her a soft smile, eyes glistening with unshed tears through his bangs.

“Thanks.”

He turns and leaves.

“What happened?” Lea asks. Kairi’s ears droop as she stares after Riku’s retreating figure.

She mumbles something indistinct.

“What was that Princess?” He teases, leaning in.

“I died,” she says. He leans away, taken aback.

“In this place, this universe, in the battle with Xehanort. Sora’s gone off to try and get her back, but there’s every chance it might kill him, too. Riku seeing me... Well it was pretty awkward for both of us, until we realised what was going on.”

“That’s why you shifted.” Isa says, and Kairi nods.

“Seeing me was painful for him, so I hoped being like this was better, since there doesn't seem to be any were’s here. It helped a bit, but...” She rubs her arm, clearly uncomfortable. Lea heaves a sigh and pulls his cousin in for a hug, pressing his nose into the hair between her ears in a nuzzle.

“Shit, Kai. It sucks, but like you said - Sora is a stubborn little brat. If anyone can fix it, he can.” She gives a huff of a laugh, swatting him away.

“Yeah.” She says. They all pretend they don’t see her wipe away tears.  
  
  


Dilan doesn’t mind being a guard. He’s had worse jobs. The whole thing with these new Lea and Isa's and dimension travelling business is certainly not the weirdest thing that he's ever seen. Not after Xemnas and Xehanort and the whole Nobody business.

He hears the softest ‘tap tap tap’ of sandals on the hard floors, and glances over to see Naminé and Riku. He quirks a brow at her. The girl gave off a strange aura even at the best of times, but today something practically pours from the air around her.

“I thought you were on the Islands?”

She smiles softly. “I am, probably.” 

She goes into the computer room, sits down, and opens her sketchbook to wait. The shadows dance on the walls. Dilan just sighs, looking over at the boy following her.

“Was your hair always that long?” He finds himself asking. Riku, or he thinks it is, just gives him an unimpressed look and goes to wait with Naminé.

Still not the weirdest, Dilan tells himself.

  
“My bar is gone.” You stare at the boarded up and foreclosed hole in the wall where your bar should be. You can’t quite process beyond that.

“The lady at the stand didn’t recognise me.” Vanitas wasn’t fond of being recognized, usually, because his history with being recognized generally wasn’t good, but he’d been helping out around the bar long enough he’d managed to at least not be on the bad sides of a few (non family) people, one of which was the lady at the fruit stand, who gave him extra pieces sometimes if she thought he needed it (which was often). 

“My bar. Is gone. I worked hard on that bar!” You’d spent a year in retail hell serving ice cream saving up for it to do it all legally and everything. It was your bar! Your home! Where the fuck was it?!

Vanitas’ gaze wanders over the boarded up windows before cringing away. He didn’t like this either, that place had been his first sanctuary, the thought of it being gone-

He doesn’t think about it.

“Okay, something is obviously very wrong here.” You say, trying desperately to pull yourself together and figure out what might be the next step. You put a hand to your temple, attempting to quell the growing headache.

“Yeah no shit.” Vanitas snarks, biting into his fruit. He makes a face at it, like it doesn’t taste the way he expected. You pull out your phone. No messages. You decide you’ve waited long enough. Lea and the kids were supposed to be here at the bar, but you're pretty sure Isa was supposed to be just doing errands around Twilight Town today, so you start with a simple text to him, asking where he is and if he knows what's happening.

Within ten seconds you have a flood of messages, most are from people you _ know _you didn’t send that message too, and others are scrambled beyond recognition. The ones you can read are full of questions, and you manage to catch a glimpse of Yuffie’s distinctive all cap’s “R U OK????” before the whole thing bugs out and shuts down.

“That’s…. Not good.” You mutter, and stow the now dead weight in your pocket. You don’t know nearly enough about tech to even attempt to troubleshoot that.

Okay, new plan.

“Ugh, who do we even go to? Mickey? Yen Sid? And where are Lea and the kids? They were supposed to be _ here _.” You’re not at all distressed that your boyfriend and other two kids are now officially Missing. Not even slightly. And what about Isa? You weren’t even sure where he was supposed to be today. What if he was missing too? With your phone bugged out you didn't even have a way to reach him. You don’t think Vanitas has his phone on him at all.

Vanitas glances at you. You take a deep breath. Everything feels Wrong and it fully appears your whole life has up and vanished but you have to pull it together. Vanitas and the kids may have been through a lot but you’re not going to put more on him than already has been.

You silently acknowledge the part of you that would have you on the ground in tears were it not for having to be the Adult here.

“Let’s take a walk. I need to clear my head before we do anything else,” you say, refusing to look at the ruined building any more.

The walk helps for a bit. Except everything is strange. Things in places they shouldn’t be, you haven’t seen a single were, and not one of your regulars has greeted you as they’ve walked past. It’s odd. Very odd.

“The bistro?” You belatedly realise Vanitas has spoken. You glance over to him in question.

He shrugs. “I’m hungry.”

“Yeah sure, I’ve got some munny on me.”

Stars help you if your munny wasn’t good here. 

Little Chef takes the order and scuttles away. You spot Scrooge out of the corner of your eye.

“Oh hello, lass, you must be new! Welcome to the Bistro!” He greets cheerily, and your heart stops.

Scrooge had helped you get the The Falling Star on its feet. You were on a first name basis with him.

Except. Not here apparently. Wherever _ here _ was. Everything so far had been strange, and worrying, but for some reason that was the straw that broke the camel's back. You croak out some excuse, hand Vanitas your munny pouch, and hurry off.

“Oi, I didn’t mean to upset- is she all right?” You hear behind you

“They, uh..um..” You feel bad leaving Van like that, he’s never going to be good at the social thing, but you were crying freely now and goddammit you hated having witnesses.

You slip into a wedge between buildings and hide behind one of those planter bushes before you start to bawl properly.

Your life was gone.

You had no idea why.

The only person left who even knew who you were was Vanitas.

What if others didn't recognise you too?

What if your siblings didn’t?

What if _ Lea _ or _ Isa _ didn’t? 

You’re not sure if your heart could take that.

You’re not sure how long you spend there, but you've just about cried yourself out when you hear the planter bush get accidentally kicked and Vanitas swear as he rubs his foot, carrying a takeout bag of food. He settles in beside you, despite the cramped space.

He drops the food beside you, averting eye contact.

“You should eat.” He says.

You rub your eyes.

“So should you.” Your voice is a little hoarse, and you have a dehydration headache building between your eyes. He shrugs. 

“I’m sorry, Van,” you say, reaching out to rub a hand on his shoulder, “I shouldn’t have left you like that. Not very good parenting on my part.” 

“I’ve had worse.” Van responds. You snort, eyes drawn briefly to the patch on his cheek, the old scars peeking out from under it looking particularly angry and red today.

“I’ll add that to my list of accomplishments. Better Parent Than Xehanort. Stunning.”

“I think it’s good.” He’s still just looking at his food. But you give him an appreciative smile anyways.

“Thanks, Van.”

  
  
  


“I’m not going down there.” Lea says, planting his feet on the floor of the ship. “I’ll do a full transformation if I have to and make this whole ship smell like wet dog.”

“Too bad!” Is all the warnings gets before he’s shoved out. Kairi giggles excitedly as she follows him. The magic changes them as they go down.

Isa decides he’ll wait on the ship.

  
  
  


“I hate you both.” Grumbles a miserably wet Lea as they’re beamed back aboard the ship. He marches over to a storage cabinet and grabs a towel.

“Aw I thought you made a great clownfish!” Sora grins. “And you figured out the swimming... Eventually.”

“Like you have any room to talk!” Kairi pokes him in the shoulder. He rubs the back of his head.

“I never said I figured it out fast!” He says cheerfully. They both giggle.

Lea can’t help but grin in amusement behind the towel as he ruffle dries his hair.  
  
  


“Do you think if you howled the others might be able to find us instead?” Kairi muses as they turn a jungle upside down trying to find whoever is here. Isa is scowling at the mirror he’s borrowed, attempting to scry various people in hopes of hitting the right ones. They know they’re close, they can feel the shift in the wrongness (or is it rightness?) of this universe where the others must be, but the terrain and trees make it difficult to navigate even for experienced adventurers like them.

“I think that only works for other wolves.” Lea scowls, though he’s half tempted to try anyways, as uncomfortable as shifting would be for him.

“Hey!” Sora, who’s climbed a tree as high as he could to get a better view, suddenly gives a shout and gestures animatedly. He points down at them, and Lea has just enough time to turn around before he’s barrelled into by two teenagers running at full speed.

He’s not even mad, he’s just glad Roxas and Xion are okay.

  
  


Apparently they had been trying to head for Twilight Town, but without their bookmarks and in this new place they'd gotten lost and had to make a pit stop on the nearest world after a particularly vicious gummi heartless tried to make a snack of them.

It’s probably a good thing it’s Huey, Dewey, and Louie who recognize Vanitas for who he is. Because they’re loose lipped enough to let you both know that apparently he’s back to being on Villain Status here, but you know they don’t tend to call other people up to gossip much unless someone is in their store explicitly to buy something. You would have been more worried if it’d been Chip and Dale. 

You decide not to question how they know what Vanitas looks like, since his villain days were spent mostly under a mask and with an entirely different haircut. You've heard enough rumours about the triplets information network to know it's better to just not ask. It’s not important right now anyway.

That said, you don’t like the stress lines that appear around his eyes after that. You’re five blocks away before you see him pull out a scarf and wrap it around his head, draping the remainder around his neck. You don’t know where he got it.

You’re not sure what to say. You take his hand and squeeze it reassuringly. You hope it conveys enough.

_ ‘You’ve grown.’ _

_ ‘You’ve changed.’ _

_ ‘I’m here.’ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i feel. really bad for dropping Comet!Kairi in Canon!Riku's lap like that honestly. It was probably pretty rough for him.
> 
> That being said, I wasn't mean enough to make it Sora instead.
> 
> also yes, the jumping POV means time isn't exactly linear right now; see: that weird text Canon!Isa got earlier. that stops after chapter 3


	3. Found

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The crew starts to come back together

“We will need to find a place for you to stay.” They’re landing at the Gardens, a pit stop to empty their now full gummi ship. No one wants to be left behind, but there just isn’t room for everyone. There’s talk of sending out multiple ships, but Ienzo would have to rig up another device and show someone how to use it, so it’s still being debated when Ienzo mentions the fact that they cannot stay at the castle.

“Why?” Asks Roxas, who is squinched into the corner next to Sora and Xion. Space is tight at this point. He has a tight grip on Xion’s hand, who themself is trying their best to stay grounded.

“The castle, while partially refurbished and livable, is still a work in progress, and does not have the capacity for so many people for an extended stay. It will work for now, but other arrangements will have to be considered long term.” Ienzo answers factually. 

“But... We’re not staying that long, are we?” Xion seems troubled by the thought. Roxas grips their hand tightly.

“I will be making every effort to return you all home, I assure you, but this would be a highly delicate project with only one chance to get right. It will be weeks at the shortest.” Ienzo tries to soften the blow, but it feels as though the air has been let out of everyone in the room.

“Well, that’s okay! We can hang out for a while, maybe make some friends!” Sora pounds his chest. He’s forcing the optimism some, but as usual it works at least a little. Kairi smiles and Roxas rolls his eyes despite the fond smile on his lips. 

“All right, let’s get out of this thing, I’m getting a cramp in my leg.” Lea grumbles as he steps over Isa and down the ramp of the ship. As soon as he exits he feels something twitch on the edge of his senses. Judging by the swinging heads and confused expressions of his fellow universe travellers, he’s not the only one.

Ienzo takes no notice, walking towards the doors.

“I am going to make some adjustments to my locator, but it shouldn’t take long.”

It’s implied they should disperse, or at least discuss who should be present for the next leg of the trip, but they all find themselves following the strange feeling, and subsequently Ienzo, up into the castle. 

“The outward energy radiant is what makes the source so difficult to pinpoint accurately, but I think if I adjust the variables with the new data we’ve gathered I can-“ Ienzo explains his project to the others, who make an attempt to pretend to listen. Except Sora, who doesn’t even pretend he understands. 

The doors to the computer room open, and it takes them all a moment to realize there’s extra figures in the room. 

“Oh you’re back! That’s wonderful, it was getting lonely with just us here.” Namine smiles brightly at the gathered group. Even Haru looks blatantly relieved to see them.

“What, we don’t count?” The shadows coalesce beneath her feet, and then rise from the floor. 

“Of course, but I can still miss everyone else too.” Namine answers diplomatically. Kairi surges forward to pull her into a hug. 

“Are you okay?” She asks. 

“Of course. Myde found me on the shore of that world Sora likes so much, and I followed the echoes here to wait for you. I found Haru on my way”

“I was just wandering the Gardens, wondering why everything felt weird when Naminé picked me up.” Haru shrugs.

“I’m glad you guys are okay.” Kairi greets them both before giving Naminé another tight hug, clearly relieved to see her. The shadows allow part of Myde’s face to form. He grins and waves, and then sinks back into the floor.

Ienzo looks like he’s about to have a conniption.

“Is he okay?” Xion asks, tilting their head towards the black puddle that is Myde. Kairi seconds the notion. While Myde was a difficult person to predict, he seems almost tired.

“He woke in the deep sea, in the territory of another deep sea being named Calypso. He won’t tell me what happened, other than that Calypso is… well I won’t say it, it wasn’t very nice, but I don’t think it went very well.”

“No fair, Namine, outing me like that. Let me nurse my wounds in peace,”the shadows whisper teasingly.

“Sorry, Myde. We’ll get you home soon.”

He lost a fight? Myde? Isn’t he literally part of the Abyss?” Lea drawls. Namine shakes her head.

“There is no Abyss here. I think that’s why he ended up in the sea with Calypso. He’s been cut off from his source and he’s not feeling very well because of it.”

“I’m sorry, if I may interrupt - was that Demyx?” Ienzo sounds a touch incredulous. 

“Myde, actually, but he used to be. Yours still goes by Demyx?”

Ienzo nods. 

“It’s complicated, though I’m sure no more so than your own. Is he fused with the darkness entirely? What is the abyss you speak of and how is it different from regular darkness?” Ienzo paces around Naminé now, who accepts the scrutiny with grace. 

The shadows under her feet slither away. Myde pokes his head out floor just long enough to say “If you’re gonna talk about me like I’m not here I’m just gonna leave.”

“Aw, Myde, you know they don’t mean it.” Sora laughs. The shadows lift and wrap around Sora like a new jacket. 

“See? Sora appreciates me.” He singsongs, and then appears to go dormant. 

Naminé smiles, and then turns to Ienzo. 

“To answer you, I suppose you could say where darkness is the opposite of light, the abyss is separate from both entirely. It would be considered a Neutral Observer in the conflict between light and dark.”

“Myde likes us though, so he bends the rules sometimes.” Lea adds, poking Sora’s shoulder where the shadows are gathered. They simply move away, however, and he ends up just poking Sora, who yelps. 

“Interesting.”

“Weren’t you going to work on your machine?” Isa finally speaks up from the back, attempting to get things back on track. 

“Right, of course. I will have to satisfy my curiosity later.” He looks like he wishes more than anything he could play hooky on the machine for a bit. His professionalism wins out however, and he moves off. 

“Namine, what did you mean before, when you said you followed the echoes?” Roxas steps forward to give her a quick hug. 

“You can’t feel them?” She asks. “None of us belong here, so we leave echoes of ourselves wherever we go, displacing what was actually supposed to be there. We’re very loud in this place. I saw the echoes in and around the castle as soon as we got here, so I knew this would be a good place to wait for you.”

“Huh. I don’t get it, but okay.” Sora scratches his head. 

“No, I think I know what she’s talking about, you can kinda feel where we feel a little different than everything else. It’s not that strong though, she must be extra sensitive to it.” Kairi says. 

“It’s possible we could use this ability to more efficiently track down our missing cohorts.” Isa sounds frank about it, but Lea can detect just the faintest hint of annoyance, likely at his own abilities having failed to be of much help. He gives him a conciliatory shoulder pat. 

“Sounds like a plan! So the away team will be me and Namine, and everyone else will figure out where we’re all going to stay in the meantime, yeah?”

Isa purses his lips but says nothing. Lea squeezes his hand reassuringly.

“Wait why just you and Naminé?” Sora protests. 

“Yeah we want to come too!” Kairi chimes in. 

Lea shakes his head. 

“The less people we bring to start with the less trips back we have to make. Namine can find people easiest, so she just makes sense.”

“But why you? Any of us could go instead of you!” Sora pushes back. Kairi puts a grounding hand on his arm. 

“Riku’s still out there.” She says as she looks up at Lea, gently reminding him he’s not the only one missing loved ones. Neither she nor Sora even bother to consider the possibility that Riku may not have crossed with them.

He sighs, rubbing the back of his neck. 

“We can’t all go. Someone from this universe needs to come too in case we run into more differences we’re not expecting.”

“I’ll go.” Kairi says with finality. Sora blanches beside her. 

“Wha- But Kai-“ he protests. Her expression remains resolute. 

“You went to look for him last time. If only one of us can go, then... It’s my turn.”

“Look, mischief, I don’t know if you’ve forgotten, but you’re dead here. You probably shouldn’t be wandering around.” He sighs. If anything her posture hardens. 

“Then I’ll stay shifted, there’s no were’s here, no one will recognize me! Please, Lea.”

He makes the mistake of looking her in the eye as she says please, and deflates. 

“Okay fine. You, me, Namine, and Ienzo.”

“Actually that would be me, not Ienzo.” The native Lea has stepped in, coming from where Ienzo had hurried off to. 

“Don’t you need his machine?” Roxas asks, and Lea holds up the little machine as he does. 

“Got it right here, Ienzo thinks I’ve got the hang of it, and he wants to get a head start on figuring out how to get you all home. Aeleus and Dilan declined, which just leaves me.” He gives the gizmo a careless toss. “Sound good?”

“It’s fine, but.. how do we tell you apart? We can’t call you both Lea.” Kairi points out. 

“Half the time I still go by Axel anyway, so you can call me that.” He says with a shrug. 

“You sure?” Lea asks. He had left the name behind too long ago himself. Axel shrugs again. 

“You got a better idea?” He says. 

“I guess not.”

“Then it’s decided. Are we ready to go or was there anything else?”   
  
  


“Ven?”

“Aqua!”

“Terra, are you okay?”

“Yeah, what happened?” 

“I think your snoring knocked us out.”

“Be serious, Ven.”

“I am serious!”

“Does something feel.. wrong, to you?”

“I guess. Everything looks fine though. Same old land of Departure. Although-“

“Who are you?”

The voice calls all three of them to look behind them. Considering they had previously been in were form cuddled in a pile, it was more awkward for some than others. 

There was a blue haired young woman on the steps leading up to the big double doors of the castle. 

Van and Terra look at her. And then look at the werecat currently pressed into Terra’s side. And then back to the other woman. 

“Aqua is that… you?”

“It certainly looks like me…”

“But that can't be right. You’re right here.”

“Yes thank you, Terra. We noticed.”

“Do we.. talk to her?”

“ _ You _ talk to her.”

“I don’t want to talk to myself, that’d be weird.”

“Didn’t you say you fought yourself a bunch in-“

“Yes, thank you, Ven. I remember.”

“Sorry.”

“She’s looking at us.”

“... she can probably hear us actually.”

“Yes I can. I would like an explanation please.”

“.... would you believe us if we said we didn’t have one?”

Aqua sighs. There is a bear, a jaguar, and a lion on the front steps to the land of Departure, and they are calling each other by her and her friends names. 

This might as well happen, she supposes. 

Riku is easy to find once they’re on the right world with Naminé’s help. Lea isn’t fast enough to keep Kairi from immediately sliding down a shale rock cliff side in order to reach him faster. She barrels into him hard enough to bowl him over and they’re still clinging to each other when the rest of the group makes it down the longer but safer cliff side path. 

They get up, and everyone pretends they can’t see the way the two of them discreetly wipe the tears from their eyes. 

“Where’s Sora?”

“Waiting in Radiant Garden for us.”

“Then let's go. He’ll get bored if we take too long.”

“Just admit you miss him.” Kairi teases. Riku’s returning smile is painfully soft. 

“Yeah. Yeah I do.”

“Hello… Ienzo, right?”

“Miss Aqua! What an unexpected call. To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“Well, something… strange, happened, and I have some questions you might be able to answer.”

“Ah. I don’t suppose it has anything to do with the sudden appearance of some strangers who are not strangers at all?”

“Yes, actually. How did you know?”

“It has been an eventful day. Let me bring you up to speed…”   
  
  


“Alright, thanks for the update, Ienzo.” Axel says into the phone before turning it off and stowing it. “Looks like they found another three of your wayward souls. I guess Aqua and Terra offered to put everyone up since Departure has a lot of space or something, so your friends at the castle are being transferred there.”

“Who were they?” Lea says, trying not to tap his foot impatiently.

“Don’t know about the other two, but he mentioned Aqua met herself, so I’d wager Terra and Ven.” Axel shrugs. 

Lea bites his cheek. They have to be here then. They have to. These were the last two dots.

They’ve landed on a dense jungle world. Lea looks to Namine, who has a troubled look on her face.

“Well?” He asks. She looks to and fro, peering into the clustered foliage.

“It’s.. strange. Something is masking their signal, bouncing it everywhere. They’re…” she pauses, and then points. “That way. I think. But I’m afraid that’s all I can get.”

“Okay.” Lea sighs. “We’ll split up, but keep the buddy system. Mischief, Riku, stick together. I’ll stay with Namine. Meet back here in-” He checks his phone “Two hours.”

“What about me?” Axel asks, leaning against the hull of the ship.

“Stay with the ship. Someone should stay anyway in case they manage to stumble here first. We don’t want to end up stranded if they pull a Roxas.” He loves his cub but… really, Roxas? Grand theft auto? He was going to have to have a talk with that kid later.

They all nod, and then split up.

Axel waits five minutes, and then follows them into the brush.

It’s not that he doesn’t trust them… well, no. It is in fact explicitly that he doesn’t trust them. There are simply too many unknowns and these strangers bring too many questions for him to not want to keep an eye on them. Being told to wait by the ship was merely more confirmation that he was right and that they had something to hide.

He sees the bob of Naminé’s head through the thick leaves, and trails her, keeping silent and unseen. He likes Naminé, trusts his own, but he reminds himself that this is not  _ his _ Naminé, and there could be other machinations at work.

He moves ahead of her, heading in the direction she was, keeping his eyes peeled.

The jungle is thick but old habits win out as he spots a head of spiky black hair, and a distinct red-black keyblade and despite the strange cut he knows  _ instantly _ who it is. Ven had painted a very clear picture of the boy when he’d told Axel their history, and he’d yet to meet anyone where gold eyes were a good sign.

_ Vanitas. _

Axel was never anything but practical, and never one to give up a free advantage in battle. 

He grits his teeth, summoning his chakrams

And  _ throws _ .

  
  
  


“Van, I love you, but  _ why _ are we here.” It’s hot, it’s humid, which is worse, and quite frankly you do not like any of the many insects that have bitten you so far.

“There should be a cache around here. I used to hide them around back when… well, way back, in case I couldn’t get something the usual way. I’m testing a theory. And you won’t let me steal everything.”

“Desperate times call for desperate measures, Van, but I have to draw the line somewhere.” You say, swatting another bug. It leaves a smear of blood. Gross.

He rustles beneath another log, grunting as he pulls at the half rotten wood. He summons his keyblade to pry at it for leverage. Probably not the most noble use for the ancient weapon, but both you and Vanitas were more practical than reverent when it came to these things.

“You find it yet, kiddo? Cause as much as teleporting with you gives me bad vertigo I am ready to be out of this place.”

“Yeah yeah, just-”

There’s a rustle in the brush.

Chakrams slice through the foliage, burning the edges in their wake. They collide with Vanitas’ keyblade, shoving him back through the soil before bouncing off. They’re immediately followed by a familiar head of flaming red hair brandishing a keyblade.

He’s heading straight for Vanitas, and you take advantage of the fact that he appears to be paying you no mind to bodyslam him. You shift him sideways and while you don’t bowl him over you’ve at least sent him back a bit. He twists around you and dances a few steps away, while you stumble he moves out of your reach.

“I don’t know who you are but I’d recommend you find better company.” His voice is cold. Your heart hurts. Everything is weird here, but you don’t have time to think about how much that hurts because he’s aiming for Van again. He gets one chakram off, which you distantly hear deflected off Vanitas’ blade as you dart forward. You sweep his legs out from under him and then roll over to sit on top of his chest, pressing a hand to his face.

Your hands get hot and your scars light up. Lightning and static fizzle in the air.

“I don’t want to hurt you.” You try to keep your breathing steady. “But I  _ will  _ blow your head open if you touch one goddam hair on his head.”

You can see one wide, angry green eye looking up between your fingers. Even the thought of doing it makes you want to cry. But you  _ won’t  _ let your kid get hurt again.

He elbows you in the gut, making you lose your grip just enough for him to swipe your hand away and land a blow to your jaw. You twist one arm around his, trying to immobilize it, but fail. You distantly hear Vanitas shout. For the briefest moment, you lose your grip, and then suddenly there isn’t anything there to grip at all.

Axel is torn thoroughly from you grip by a snarling, half-transformed Lea, who in one smooth motion grabs him away, winds up, and then throws him as hard as he can. He pants as several tree branches plummet after the flying body, and you can only assume he ran here.

It’s him!

_ He’s here! _

And you’re thankful he is; You were ready to fight, and maybe you would have even won, but even the thought of hurting your boyfriend (whether it was actually him or not) is enough to turn your stomach.

Axel stumbles upright dazedly, keyblade somehow still in his hand.

Lea snarls, fangs viciously pointed and claws at the ready. 

“Put that shit away.  _ Now! _ ” 

He looks at Lea, then at you, then finally at Vanitas who has come up to stand next to you, weapons at the ready.

“That’s Vanitas.” He says. It’s a statement and question rolled into one. Stars, you thought you were done with all this ages ago.

“Yeah, thanks, we noticed,” you snark. “Now fuck off.”

Axel seems to pause, and then dispels his blade.

“Maybe I’ve... Missed something.” He says slowly.

“No shit,” you mutter under your breath. 

“Go back to the ship,” Lea growls. His posture isn’t outright battle ready any more, but he still hasn’t de-shifted. “We’ll be back in a bit.”

Axel glares at him. Then he turns, and walks away. He doesn’t pause when Namine, who was waiting on the fringes, goes to follow him.

“Not gonna stay?” You faintly hear him ask. Her answer is too quiet for you to hear.

Once he’s out of sight, you feel like your bones turn to jelly. You look up at Lea (your Lea! Oh thank the stars,  _ your _ Lea) and only a moment later you’re wrapped up in the tightest hug he can manage. He releases you only long enough to tug Vanitas into it too.

“Dammit, dammit  _ dammit _ .” You hear him swearing under his breath. “See if I ever let either of you out of my sight ever again.”

You laugh, even as you feel the tears start to spill down your face.

“You h-have no idea how glad I am to see you.” Your lip trembles. You think you even hear Van’s breath hitch a bit. You press in closer, just to feel them both there. Lea de-shifts, and you can practically hear him wince as he does. You pull back, running a hand through his hair as his snout pulls back in.

“Where’s Isa and the other kids?” You ask, almost dreading the answer.

“They’re safe, everyone’s gathering at the Land of Departure until we can get everything sorted out and we can go home.” 

You sag in relief. The kids were okay. Isa was okay.

“Home sounds... Amazing,” you breathe. It really does. He huffs.

“Come on. Let’s get back to the ship, we’ll have a talk with Asshole Me, and then we are going to see about getting home.”

“Oh you do know how to sweet talk a babe, don’t you?” You grin. Vanitas pulls away from the hug with an exaggerated groan.

“Can it please wait until you have a room?” He gripes.

“Nope.” Lea grins and places a wet, sloppy kiss on your cheek.

“Let’s get out of here.” You say, and all three of you start heading back for the ship. You don’t know how you’re going to get home yet but… at least you’ve got part of your family back.

Now you just had to get to the rest of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and so ends the intro
> 
> now to start getting into some Consequences and some slightly more focused chapters with a ton of characters bouncing off each other


	4. Group Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Comet and Vanitas make it to the rendezvous point, and the consequences thereof.

You, Vanitas, and Namine curl up in a corner of the cargo hold, Lea and Kairi lounging directly in front of the two of you. The other Lea - Axel, fuck you gotta remember that now - is in the cockpit, driving the ship to where everybody else is. Lea is simmering, heatwaves rolling off his shoulders and jaw clenching. Kairi leans against him, using her presence to hopefully prevent him from actually bursting into flames.

“So who’s all here with us?” You murmur quietly, nudging Lea’s hip with a foot.

“Oh, uh,” Lea blinks, trying to refocus on you and not his anger. The heat disperses at his distraction. “Roxas, Xion, Isa, Haru, Riku, Sora, Terra, Aqua, Ventus, Myde…” Lea quickly and quietly counts for a moment, mouthing names, then nods. “Almost everybody we know, actually.”

“So Van and I are late to the party, huh?” You quip, nudging him again. 

“ _ Fashionably  _ late,” Kairi teases, draping her fluffy tail over your ankle.

“And I’m not even wearing my nice suit,” you sigh. 

Vanitas says nothing, face pressed into the side of your neck, curled up against your side. You all fall silent, Lea’s jaw clenches as he abruptly remembers why he was angry in the first place. Namine reaches over you to gently grasp Van’s hand in hers. You stroke Van’s hair and nudge Lea again.

“Cool it,” you tell him gently. “We can’t afford to make enemies here.”

“I know,” Lea rumbles, eyes almost glowing with his protective rage. “I just…” He scrubs his face with his hand, sighing and releasing his tension. “This is really messed up.”

“Yeah…” You mumble, feeling yourself start to drift away from your body before you force yourself to focus. “It’s… it’s a little fucked up.”

“You swore,” Vanitas suddenly mumbles.

“I deserve to swear and you swear as much as I do, bratling,” you huff, bouncing the shoulder he’s resting on. Vanitas only snorts, but doesn’t react beyond that. You and Lea exchange a pained look. This stay, however long it lasts, is going to be hard on you all, but it will be  _ especially  _ rough on Van, you feel. Kairi and Lea edge a little closer to the small pile, both seeking comfort and clearly guarding you and the other cubs. You all remain silent through the rest of the trip, tense and on edge.

Eventually the ship lands, boarding ramp lowering and letting light in. None of you move to leave the ship. Axel silently climbs down from the cockpit and disembarks, deliberately ignoring the five of you. You watch him, tightening your grip on your cub.

_ Keep moving, asshole,  _ you growl internally, but keep silent, remembering your own words. The five of you wait a few moments. Lea carefully rises from his position on the floor and peeks outside.

“Clear,” he says, gesturing at the rest of you. Vanitas heaves a sigh and gets up. You all cautiously leave the ship, sticking close to each other and senses on high alert. Lea leads the way, heading to a training field nearby, probably to avoid as many of the strange others as much as possible. Thankfully, the field is abandoned, but then you see a figure running towards you.

“Van!” Ventus hollers, sprinting to your group. You think you see the others, the kids and your friends and oh  _ thank the stars  _ that Isa is okay!

“VENTUS!” Van roars, breaking away to sprint forward as well.

Suddenly a shout, you see a blur, familiar but not, keyblade descending, oh  _ fuck no! _

The world blurs around you as you  _ dash  _ forward, lightning crackling in your bones. You feel Lea with you as you reach your hand out, palm  _ burning  _ with power. A thunk of metal on flesh, the feeling of a chin in your palm, the brief impression of angry blue eyes, an inflamed scar-

You come back to yourself, just barely pulling back before you blow this  _ imposter’s  _ head off. Just behind you stands Lea, the end of her keyblade in his clawed grip, blood oozing from his palm. Isa,  _ your  _ Isa, stands behind her, eyes aglow with a fae light and a spike of his claymore pressed against the front of her throat. You force your breath out through gritted teeth, willing the need to  _ kill threat kill it dead  _ to settle back down into your chest. You lift your hand from the strange Aqua’s face, but keep it close in clear threat.

“Dismiss your keyblade, Master Aqua,” Isa rumbles, tilting his blade slightly, forcing her to tilt her chin up to avoid getting pierced.

“Or we’ll have a  _ problem,”  _ Lea growls, and you see the telltale shimmering of air and  _ feel  _ him start to heat up.

“ _ Try me, bitch,”  _ you snarl, lightning sparking from your teeth.

The rest of the cubs run past you, clearly surrounding Vanitas. You tilt your head slightly to check on your cub. He looks drawn and pale, this new event clearly taking its toll on top of everything else. Ventus stands in front of him, teeth and keyblade bared, free hand reaching back and holding Vanitas’ arm, which your cub clutches back. The rest of them also have their blades drawn, some with spells gathered at the tips and humming with mana. You turn back forward and look past the other Aqua.  _ Your  _ Aqua and Terra are quickly approaching, keyblades up and pointed at your assailant, magic gathered at the end of their weapons. The other Aqua’s face scrunches, clearly struggling over something.

You feel your snarl quirk into a savage grin as tendrils blacker than ink, blacker than  _ heartless,  _ curl up over other Aqua’s torso, coiling around her neck. 

**“Take one more step,” ** Myde hisses, voice layered and dissonant and  _ angry _ ,  **“and I will pop your head off like a ** ** _bottle cap.”_ **

“We’re  _ done  _ with people attacking  _ my kids,”  _ you growl, feeling Lea and Isa growl in agreement.

_ “Dismiss your keyblade, Master Aqua,”  _ Isa repeats, lips pulled back in a vicious snarl.

This other Aqua hesitates for only a second, but dismisses her keyblade. Lea snaps his teeth at her and pulls back, licking the blood from the gash already closing on his palm. Isa removes his claymore from her neck, power fading, but keeps his weapon in his hand. You draw back, still crackling with electricity, and reach your hand out behind you without looking away from her. A hand, warm and slightly clammy, grabs your own. You tug your cub closer to you, coincidentally tugging Ventus closer as well. Said blond growls lowly, determined to stay between Vanitas and this strange Aqua. The cubs form around you in a protective huddle as you all walk around and away from her, Lea and Isa flanking you as an honor guard. Terra and Aqua take the front in mirror positions of Lea and Isa, and you all hurry away from the silent, frozen Aqua.

You hope Myde doesn’t break her too badly. As much as you want your pound of flesh from her, from everyone in this universe right now, you know you can’t make her an enemy. You push that from your mind, concentrating on  _ getting your family to safety. _

Aqua can’t move, tendrils colder than  _ death _ keeping her in place. She can only watch as the reflections of her friends hurry past her, still glaring and growling at her. Her world is tilted on its side, not quite able to comprehend the fact that Vanitas - slightly different, but still  _ Vanitas  _ \- is  _ here.  _ And, what’s worse, the other Ventus  _ defended  _ him, had  _ growled  _ at her, keyblade at the ready.  _ Everybody  _ had pointed their weapons at her, and it… she  _ still  _ couldn’t comprehend it.

Aqua shivers as the tendrils abruptly tighten around her throat, then loosen, cool darkness slipping back down to the earth to pool on the ground. The pool stretches and rises, forming shoulders and a head. A man,  _ covered  _ in eyes, grins at her, shark teeth bared in a grin that should be too big for his face.

**“You really need to look before you strike, ** ** _Master _ ** **Aqua,” ** the  _ monster  _ croons, fins fluttering in a clearly mocking gesture. Aqua’s blood goes  _ cold  _ at the naked, ruthless killer she sees in his eyes.  **“I’ll be watching.”** The monster sinks back down into the puddle he came from, which itself disappears with nary a wisp. Aqua gasps, shaking, knees weak. Somehow, she knows that if she had managed to strike that Vanitas, she wouldn’t have lived to tell about it. 

Aqua stumbles the opposite way the group had gone, wanting to get as far away from them as possible and collect her thoughts.

**“You need to watch your step as well,” ** Myde hums, slipping thin tendrils around Axel’s neck, feeling his pulse and low-embers heat. The former assassin stills, caught in the act of watching the fight. Myde’s heart wails against how  _ wrong  _ it is to threaten somebody who looks  _ so much  _ like one of his friends, but he threatened  _ Myde’s pod,  _ and that isn’t allowed.  **“You make a move against my pod again, and you will pay in blood and bone. Are we understood?”**

“Crystal,” Axel grits, pulse jumping. Commendable, how his face and body language stay in control.

**“Fabulous,” ** Myde whispers, sinking back into the bricks.  **“And quit being a stalker. It’ll improve your quality of life.”**

All of you make it to the wing that the other’s had claimed. Immediately you’re grabbed by Isa in a crushing hug with Lea, and your world dissolves into the arms holding you and the scent of woodsmoke and herbs and  _ thank the stars above  _ everybody is  _ okay- _

“We are here, Comet,” Isa, murmurs into your hair, and you let yourself go limp in his grasp with a choked sob, holding on to him for dear life. He sinks to the ground with you as your legs give out, and you and Vanitas are instantly swarmed by  _ pack _ and  _ family  _ and you’ve never felt more terrified in your goddamn  _ life. _ You press your forehead against Isa’s, breathing him in. Lea encircles his arms around you both, surrounding you with the scent of woodsmoke. Vanitas is currently being swarmed by his siblings, Ventus and Sora openly weeping with relief. Aqua and Terra join in on your huddle, pressing noses into your hair and Lea’s cheek and Isa’s shoulder and you press back, feeling their tears on their cheeks. The cubs migrate over and you let them bury you, whimpering and crying and purring in both distress and relief. 

Cool tendrils briefly coil and whisper over the pile, and you taste sea salt and cold stone as Myde wordlessly but frantically checks all of you over. He brushes webbed hands over arms and faces. You grab his hand and squeeze it gently, feeling him squeeze back.

One at a time, the weres step away to strip and shift. The pile quickly becomes a pack cuddle, and you gratefully bury your face into Lea’s ruff, Vanitas curling up so his head rests on your lap, Isa curled up next to you. Roxas and Xion curl up on either side of Vanitas, thoroughly trapping your legs. Riku and Haru are trapped with Sora, Kairi, and Namine on the other side of Lea. Terra rests just in front of Lea, pressing foreheads with him and rumbling, Aqua and Ventus on either side of the bear. You know Myde is present by the small tendrils looped around everybody’s wrist, including your own. It gently squeezes, occasionally, as if reassuring itself that you’re still alive and there.

The sun has set by now, but you can’t sleep. You’re just… too scattered. Too anxious. Too  _ hurt.  _

“...everything’s weird here,” Xion murmurs, loud in the quiet space.

“Yeah,” Aqua speaks up.

“The apples taste different,” Kairi speaks up.

“The flowers smell funny.”

“I  _ still  _ think they’re joking with me about the banana thing.”

“The castle’s a little different.”

“The constellations are all wrong.”

“The moon is quiet.”

Everybody falls silent. You swallow dryly, feeling tears burn behind your eyes.

“I’m dead here,” Kairi speaks up. Everybody hisses a breath. “I died during the battle with Xehanort.”

“I went off to find her,” Sora murmurs. “And it’ll probably kill the other me.”

You choke on a sob, Lea whimpering and licking the tears from your cheeks. You feel wet spots against your shoulder from Isa. 

“I didn’t reform,” Vanitas rasps from your lap. “The duck kids recognized me, but not for anything good. I died, and I haven’t come back, and for all they know and care about I’m still the enemy. Still  _ lost. _ ” He hides his face in your leg. You stroke through his neck and shoulder fur, gathering courage for your own fear.

“I…” You shudder, swallowing back another sob. “I don’t think I  _ exist  _ here. My bar isn’t  _ here  _ and Scrooge didn’t recognize me-” You cut yourself off, face crumpling. There’s a numb sort of certainty in your gut that if you tried to contact any of your alternate siblings, they wouldn’t recognize you either. With a pained whine Lea renews his attack on your face, desperately nuzzling and grooming you as Isa throws his arms around you in a tight grip, as if you would disappear in the next instant.

The rest of the pack whimpers and crawls forward to touch noses and paws to you, reassuring themselves and you that you’re still  _ here,  _ that you’re still  _ present _ . You shiver, trying to keep your breathing even as hot tears spill over your cheeks, the crushing weight of “I don’t exist here” pressing down against you. Myde wraps his tendril up your arm, covering it from your wrist to your shoulder and squeezing gently.

Eventually, you all calm down, sniffling and whimpering, but unburdened by the fears lurking in your hearts. Isa presses a kiss to your undercut, Lea plants a tender lick on your forehead, and you return the favor to them both. You reach out and brush your hands over those you can reach, letting them touch or lick you in turn. You rub a reassuring arm over the Myde sleeve, somehow feeling his hand press back through the shadow. You don’t question it.

“I vote,” you begin, voice crackly, “that we stay in here for a couple of days.”

“They’ve been bringing us food, and I know some of us have some in our inventory,” Aqua speaks up.

“I second this plan,” Isa murmurs.

“All in favor?” Terra asks.

“Aye,” everybody replies.

“All opposed?” Haru continues.

Silence.

“Motion carried to keep our asses parked in here until we decide otherwise,” Lea says, snuggling down around you and Isa. “Now shut the hell up and go to sleep.”

“What, you don’t like existential questions at ass o’clock in the morning?” You quip, letting your eyelids droop. “It’s part of the sleepover experience.”

“Yeah, but it’s been a long day and I want to  _ sleep, _ ” Lea gripes. Terra yawns hugely as he curls back around Ventus, who’s already conked back out.

“Valid,” you mumble, letting yourself drift off.

This has been the longest day of your life, and the ones following are sure to be longer… but at least you’re here with your family and pack. With them, you’ll be able to face tomorrow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor, poor Van.  
Canon!Aqua is lucky she’s strategically valuable, or she’d’ve been ripped to shreds.


	5. Chirithy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ven and Van meet an old.. Friend?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is canonverse, so we gotta touch on the chirithy thing.

Vanitas meets Chirithy is less than two days into their stay at the Land of Departure. 

He’s not sulking because he doesn’t  _ sulk _ , but he is hiding out in one of the more obscure corners of the section of rooms reserved for the displaced visitors use. Ventus is with him, head pillowed on his thigh in full jaguar form and sleeping soundly. He’s jealous. Vanitas doesn’t sleep that soundly even at home, but here? Sleep is a pipe dream. 

The buddy system has been a constant with Vanitas of late, but really no one wants to be alone in this strange place. He refuses to admit out loud he’s glad there’s always at least someone stuck to him like glue, but he has a feeling all of the heart sibs have a good idea anyway. Eventually he’s probably going to get sick of it, he finds people exhausting at the best of times, but for now it’s a comfort. 

He also doesn’t really register at first that there’s someone else in the room until it squeaks and makes a dramatic surprise gesture. 

“Oh my! More Ventus’es!”

Vanitas looks up, and his first thought is ‘ _ is that a cat???’ _

The thing waddles up, trepidation and excitement at war in its posture, and Vanitas isn’t quite sure how to react and so he merely stays still. 

He ignores the twinge in the back of his mind. 

_ ‘I’m your new partner my name is-‘ _

“Hello!” It greets, so cheerily it reminds him of Sora. 

“Hi.” Vanitas manages. “What.. are you?”

The creature deflates. 

“Oh, you don’t remember either, huh?”

_ ‘You have to go, I’ll wait for you, I promi-‘ _

“We’re not your Ventus.” Vanitas says, instead of answering. 

The cat scoffs. 

“ _ All _ Ventus’es are my Ventus.”

“We’re from another dimension.”

“I know.” 

And yet it still claims them as..? Vanitas blinks in surprise.

“Oh, I didn’t introduce myself, how rude! My name is Chirithy, and I’m your-“ the creature cuts itself off. “I’ll be your friend, if you want.”

Vanitas first instinct is to say something sharp, how he has plenty now thanks, or that Sora is enough friends all on his own. He doesn’t need friends from this universe. But the words die before they hit his tongue. 

“Nice to meet you, Chirithy.” Is what he says instead. It does a happy little jump, clapping small paws together as it cheers. 

“Wassat?” Ven grumbles, woken by the conversation. He blinks at Chirithy in an unconscious mimicry of Vanitas only moments before. 

“Is that a cat?” He asks, and only pouts a little when Vanitas laughs. 

“No, I’m your Chirithy!” It announces, apparently not at all insulted. 

Ven squints his eyes and tilts his head and Vanitas wonders what he’s remembering. 

But then his expression clears and he gives his head a shake and metes out a cheery “Nice to meet you, Chirithy.” Instead. 

“Aw, you don’t remember either.” Chirithy’s head bows, and Vanitas feels bad despite not having any kind of true connection to the creature. Ventus gains a panicked look. 

“I’m sorry, it’s just we’re from-“

“Oh I know,” Chirithy interrupts. “Other Ventus explained where you’re from. I guess I just hoped..”

Vanitas cocks his head until he realizes Chirithy is talking about him. 

“I’m not Ventus. I’m Vanitas.”

“Oh. I’m sorry.” Chirithy says in a way that indicates it’s not truly certain what it’s apologizing for. “So are you also not Ventus?” It looks at Ven, who scratches his cheek. 

“No I am Ven. Just a different one.”

Chirithy appears frustrated by this. 

“You both feel like Ven but only one of you says you are? I don’t get it.”

Ven casts his gaze down. 

“We used to be. I guess technically I’m not Ventus any more than Van is, I just got to keep the name.”

Chirithy crosses its little arms and hums as it processes this. 

“I guess that makes sense. I’ll try to remember the right names though, even if it’s hard to tell you apart.”

Ven lets out an incredulous chuckle as he looks up at Vanitas, with his undercut and multiple piercings, not to mention the wild colour differences. 

“We look nothing alike.” Vanitas is the one to point it out. Chirithy pauses. 

“Oh. I guess you forgot that too. That’s okay, I still love you, and I’m sure your Chirithy does too, wherever they are.”

Chirithy gives Vanitas’ leg a hug, and then skips off, vanishing into a puff of smoke. 

Ventus’ brows furrow and he looks up at Vanitas again. Vanitas looks at the empty space Chirithy was moments before with a blank expression. 

“Our… Chirithy?”

Vanitas feels like he’s holding a tether, the severed and tattered end floating in an unseen breeze. 

That tether went somewhere once, he knows. 

It doesn’t anymore. 

“No.” He answers Ventus absently. “I don’t think so.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey remember when we said khux wasn't part of cometverse?
> 
> we lied.
> 
> ... okay so we didnt KNOW we were lying at the time, but i (shy) had a brainwave a few months back and now it is. kind of. it went... very different than canon.


	6. Anything For My Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> During a quiet moment, Vanitas has some questions. Just _what_ was Comet going to do to Axel?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comet doesn’t fuck around

“So, what were you going to do to him?”

You look up from your fiddling with the training dummy. Vanitas, dressed in his workout clothes, has his hands on his hips as he gives you a curious look. You put down your tools and give him your full attention.

“Do what to whom?” You need clarification, mostly because it’s been a hectic few days and your brain is  _ scrambled.  _ Ending up in a parallel reality does that to a person.

“That other Lea,” Vanitas clarifies. “With the-” he places his hand on his face to demonstrate.

Oh, ooof. This isn’t something you really want to talk about, but you’d  _ promised  _ to be open and honest with Vanitas.

“It’s a kill move,” you say bluntly. “I found out I could do it on complete accident.”

Vanitas goes silent, looking away.

“What happened?” He asks, but in a way that makes it clear he expects to be rebuffed.

Honesty, Comet. Honesty.

“You know my little sister, right? Yuffie?” At his nod, you continue. “So, this was about… let’s say two years after we first ended up in Traverse Town. I was just starting to get a handle on my storm magic, and only just realizing it was okay to care about people again.” You look down at your hands, rubbing your knuckles with a thumb. “I was in a bad place, Van. A bad,  _ bad  _ place. I was so angry, so devastated, so  _ hurt  _ that some days I thought about walking out of the house and letting the heartless take me.”

Vanitas inhales sharply and you give him a wry smile.

“Yeah, not a good place. But I stayed because there were a bunch of kids younger than me there who needed help. So I hung on for them. They were my lifeline. Oh, Cid did his best, but he’s not exactly the soft type. We made it work, though.” You look out the window, observing the clouds. “The thing about Traverse Town is that only the strong in heart, or the lucky, make it there. Strong hearts aren’t necessarily good or nice hearts.” The material of the dummy creaks as you tighten your grip on an arm, old anger bubbling up in your throat. “And there were some  _ real  _ scudzes on the street, Vanitas. Some  _ fucked up _ people.”

You sigh and release the dummy.

“One day, Yuffie goes missing. She’s the youngest, you know. She was a toddler when some  _ sick fucks  _ nabbed her. I hunted them down.”

You close your eyes, remembering Yuffie’s angry-terrified screaming and caterwauling, the smell of the hideout you’d infiltrated, the sneer on the lead thug’s face.

“I got in a fight with some of the thugs. All I could think of was what they were going to do to Yuffie,  _ my  _ baby sister.  _ Mine.  _ But I was too confident, too angry. One of the thugs got on top of me.”

You glance at Vanitas, who is sitting beside you.

“The thing about wild magic is that it’s  _ wild,”  _ you explain. “It doesn’t respond to incantations, it responds to  _ intent.  _ It responds to  _ emotion.  _ And I was trapped beneath a very nasty man, my sister being held captive by just as nasty people, and I wasn’t strong enough to throw the man off. He bent down to do… something. I don’t remember what. I grabbed his face.”

You sigh.

“Next thing I know is there’s a headless corpse on top of me, my hand hurts, and it smells… Well. I ended up grabbing the closest thug’s face and telling the leader he either releases Yuffie, or I don’t stop popping heads until he does. I think I burnt my handprint in that thug’s face anyway. Boss Thug let’s Yuffie go and we go home.” You huff something like a laugh, more like wry self-deprecation than humor. “I couldn’t stand watermelon or the smell of meat for  _ months.  _ It took me longer to get my magic under some semblance of control.” You turn your head to look at Vanitas, staring into his wide amber eyes. “It’s the nastiest thing I can do to somebody, and I’d do it again to save my family. I want you  _ safe _ , Vanitas. I want you  _ whole.  _ You are  _ mine,  _ and I’d do  _ anything  _ to keep you alive. I don’t care how many bodies I have to crawl over, or how many corpses I have to make for it to happen. Nightmares I can deal with. I can’t deal with losing family.”

Vanitas blinks rapidly and ducks his head. He tilts to the side to press against you, and you loop an arm around his shoulders. He buries his face into your collarbone, and you graciously ignore the wet patch he’s leaving. Eventually, he straightens, wiping his eyes.

“Can you show me?” He asks.

“You just want to see me blow something up,” you accuse playfully, ruffling his hair. Vanitas doesn’t deny it, grinning cheekily. 

You set up the mannequin and walk a few paces away. You’re magic has been on the fritz ever since arriving in this awful place, but thankfully this move wasn’t really about finesse. As long as you don’t try to do anything fancy, it  _ should _ be fine. Vanitas watches from the sidelines. You take a deep breath, bouncing on your toes, lightning crackling in and around your body. You dash forward, lightning crackling in your wake, palm  _ slamming  _ into the dummy’s head. You grip the head tightly for one timeless moment, scars glowing and palm tingling and the scent of ozone thick in your throat. 

The head  _ vaporizes,  _ dust and shrapnel exploding in several different directions. You fall on top of the dummy as it falls, straddling the now-headless mannequin. You stand up, brushing off dust and shrapnel, and turn to give Vanitas a little bow. He claps appreciatively, big grin on his face. Of course, he’d like explosions.

You happen to glance to the entryway of the training field.

The other Lea is just peeking in, wide eyes trained on the fallen dummy. He looks up at you and you widen your own eyes meaningfully.

_ That would have been you,  _ you hope your expression says.  _ That would have been you, and I would  _ ** _not _ ** _ have regretted it. _

_ _ He gives you a nod - an acknowledgement - and disappears from the entryway. Vanitas regains your attention as he bounds up to you, gesturing animatedly as he starts theorizing on how to mimic your killmove with a thunder spell, and what else can you do with lightning, can you fly? Can you take him flying?

You grin and trap Vanitas - your  _ cub  _ \- under one arm, digging knuckles into his scalp as he yells and flails. He doesn’t try very hard to throw you off, though. His laugh is gaspy and more of a bark, but genuine and from his heart. You would do  _ anything  _ to protect that. 

** _Anything. _ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YOUR FACE ASPLODE!


	7. Nightmares

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Comet has no regrets, but dreams are a funny thing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> just a bit of baby chapter, checking in on comet and how they're dealing with the whole. being prepared to Do Anything For One's Family thing.
> 
> Because even if you ARE prepared to do anything, that doesn't mean it doesn't affect you.
> 
> first segment is a nightmare and gets pretty dark (cw; blood, dead family members, accidental murder of family members, comet's low-key terror that everyone they know is better off without them. yknow. fun stuff), just so you guys are forewarned.

The forest is hot.

Vanitas is nearby, you feel him on the edges of your senses. He’s moved ahead somewhere. You call out, but you can’t decipher his answer.

The forest is so hot.

Flames roar past you. By the time you react Vanitas has been struck and lies on the ground. His eyes stare unseeing at you. He’s dead, he’s _dead- no_ how could this _happen?_ There’s someone standing above him.

You  _ roar _ .

That’s your son, your son, you _ r so _ n how could he!

How  _ could  _ he

Your hand clamps on his face. He looks scared, betrayed. 

“Comet-” He gasps. It’s too late. Power and rage surge through you. It flows down and out and you roar again.

You’ve killed him. You killed him. The blood drips from your hands.

“You should keep better company.” It’s the other one, he has his keyblade out. “Or maybe  _ they _ should have, considering.”

“He hurt Vanitas.” The words tumble from your lips. The body is gone. Blood drips from your hands.

“No he didn’t. I did.”

He has Vanitas’ body by the neck, dangling it carelessly. He tosses it before you and bile rises in your throat.

The forest scalds against your skin.

Of course. There’s two of him.

And you’d  hurt killed betrayed  the  _ wrong one _

“Lea-” the name is barely a gasp. It is damnation on your lips.

“Lea, Lea, oh no no no n o” you chant to yourself. How could you? How could you.

Vanitas lays before you, you gather him him up into your arms, but can’t seem to get a hold, as if he crumbles to dust at the edges where you try to grab him.

He looks up at you. He’s wearing the jawline of his old mask.

“I was wrong.”

He’s gone.

The ash sticks to the blood on your fingers.

You scream.

A light falls in front of your face. You’re brain is fuzzy, the edges of the scene falling away. It’s Lea’s keyblade. The other Lea. He sneers.

“Lucky we never met you.”

He brings it down

  
  
  
  


Your eyes snap open, and it takes a moment for you to remember where you are. There’s tears on your cheeks and your throat feels raw. It’s been a while since you had one this bad. You let out little gasping breaths. Where’s Lea? You’re panicked brain can’t process.  _ Where’s Lea? _

You’re vaguely aware someone is speaking to you, but it’s as if through a haze. Some distant part of your brain wonders if you’re still dreaming. You reach out, grasping for something, anything, and a hand grabs yours. There’s another one on your cheek, and then you finally recognize the sleep tousled heads of red and blue hair looking at you with worry.

You give a slightly larger gasp before throwing yourself forward into the closest person. It’s Lea. You run your free hand across his arm, his chest, pushing your ear into his breast to hear his heartbeat.

You don’t let your hand go near his face.

Isa, who is still holding your other hand, rubs a thumb over your knuckles softly.

“Are you okay?” Lea asks. You give a small shake of your head into his collarbone. You don’t want to think about it.

“What do you need?” Isa asks softly. A minute, just a minute, to pull yourself together. But you don’t trust words right now, and so you just give his hand a squeeze instead. He seems to get the idea though, and gives it a small squeeze back.

You stay like that for a while. Your head on Lea’s chest, one hand in Isa’s, and Isa rubbing comforting circles into Lea’s back.

You breathe.

You breathe again.

Ground yourself.

It was just a nightmare, you think.

It was just a nightmare.

No matter how close it had felt to becoming reality.

Just a nightmare.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im.... really sorry this chapter is so small. i would have just stuck it as like a prologue to one of the longer ones but there really wasn't a good one to do that with so its. just gonna hang out here awkwardly. lol. this is by far the shortest of the bunch though


	8. Getting overwhelmed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vanitas searches for a hidey-hole to calm down in and runs into the younger Xion instead. It... Doesn't go great

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finals kicked my ass and then holidays happened and low-key we've been procrastinating because we write these things hilariously out of order and like having gaps filled before we post anything.  
Anyway we're still alive, still writing when we can, and posting when we remember to.

Vanitas skulks through the shadows of the corridor, lost in thought. He is… overwhelmed is a good word, but not quite Enough of a word to pin down how he feels about the whole situation. This entire dimension is  _ wrong.  _ It’s at least a couple years behind, so it  _ is  _ technically time travel (God  _ damn  _ it). Weres apparently aren’t a thing, which is just… mind-boggling. His alternate self is either straight up  _ dead  _ or still lost to the darkness (which is… worse). Sora is  _ gone  _ chasing after a  _ dead  _ Kairi  _ (how???????)  _ and it might just kill him and that… hurts more than he thought it would. And… for some reason Comet doesn’t exist.

His  _ Ren  _ doesn’t exist.

Vanitas wrestles his thoughts away from the dark spiral of “Here’s How Everything Goes Wrong Because Comet Wasn’t There” and walks a little faster. If he’s lucky, his hidey-hole exists in this universe as well. Or he’ll just find a new one. Either would do. He just needs to be alone for a while.

“Aw, fuck,” Vanitas sighs gustily, looking around himself. “I am  _ super  _ lost.”

Figures. Alternate dimension = alternate castle layout = a  _ super  _ lost Vanitas in a hostile environment. Eeurgh. Vanitas shakes himself, almost wishing he’d shifted so he could feel his pelt ruffle, and turns around.

Xion is standing in a doorway.

Wait, not  _ his  _ Xion.  _ His  _ Xion is taller, with hair cut and styled to be spikier and more asymmetrical than it used to be. This Xion is the  _ Other  _ Xion, short and babyfaced, wearing an outfit he honestly hasn’t seen in years. They- she- fuckit,  _ she  _ looks at him with wide eyes, face pale and hands trembling.

Vanitas gets a sinking feeling in his gut. But… it couldn’t hurt to be friendly. Right?

Vanitas raises his hand to wave at her.

Many things happen all at once.

Vanitas raises his hand.

Xion gasps loudly, keyblade appearing in a flash of light.

Running footsteps and the Other Roxas is there (he’s so small so young).

Other Roxas summons his own blade and lunges, Xion a half step behind him because they are a unit, always a unit, never one without the other.

Vanitas flinches back, hands up to protect himself, he can’t fight back it’ll just make things  _ worse- _

_ CLANG! _

Three keyblades block the way. Roxas and Xion,  _ his  _ Roxas and Xion  _ his  _ siblings  _ his his his thank the stars,  _ block the way. Roxas effortlessly pins his alternate self’s keyblades - both of them - to the ground with only one of his own, locking them in place with the branching teeth of Oathkeeper. 

Xion is gripping the teeth of their alternate’s keyblade with one clawed hand, not even trembling with effort as they slowly, deliberately pull the blade to the side. They bare their teeth and hiss, fangs flashing. They shove Other Xion back with a snarl.

“How  _ dare  _ you!” Xion snarls. “You two, of all people, should  _ know  _ better.” Next to them Roxas twists his wrist, disarming his Other self with an angry flick of his keyblade. He sets his stance and growls, causing his alternate to back up fearfully.

Xion snorts and turns to Vanitas, padding closer. Vanitas feels like his skin is too tight, the world closing in. God, he’s so  _ fucking  _ stressed this is all messed up those are his siblings but  _ not  _ his siblings and-

“You okay, Van?” Xion whispers, deliberately pressing their cheek against his temple. Vanitas wordlessly hunches forward, keening in a pitch beyond human hearing. Xion wraps their arm around his shoulders, enveloping him in their scent and presence. They lift their head to glare at their younger selves once more.

_ “Shame  _ on you,” they rebuke one last time, before turning their head away with a haughty sniff and carefully leading Vanitas away. Roxas snorts, dismissing his keyblades, and gives the younger twins a look of absolute disappointment. 

“I’d’ve thought you would know better by now than to attack without explanation,” he scolds, before turning and trotting after his siblings.

Roxas and Xion cling to each other, eyes wide as they watch their Other, older selves walk away from them, leading away somebody who  _ should  _ have been an enemy. Who  _ was  _ an enemy, not too long ago. But… he’s… different.

“Their eyes,” Xion whispers, shivering.

“They looked like… Axel’s,” Roxas finishes.

Ruthless, fierce, calculating, and  _ determined.  _

“Maybe… we shouldn’t have done that,” Xion speaks up after a moment, voice soft. Roxas thinks for a few seconds.

“You’re right,” he sighs, clinging tighter. “It… it was wrong. We really  _ should  _ know better, huh?”

“Yeah. We should go say sorry.”

“Maybe not right now, though. I don’t think they wanna see us.”

“No.”

The two fall silent for a moment.

“I want Axel,” Roxas speaks up.

“Yeah. Let’s go find him.”

Holding each other’s hand, they shuffle off to find their friend.

The moment Xion and Roxas slow down long enough for Vanitas to  _ think,  _ he sinks to the ground, slumping against the wall. Xion and Roxas rest on either side of him, leaning against him in support. Vanitas’ breaths come in deliberate, deep heaves, trying to keep himself calm against the storm in his mind. He presses his hands against his face.

“This is so fucked up,” he mumbles eventually.

“Yep,” Roxas agrees, tipping his head to smush his cheek against Vanitas’ shoulder. Xion scoots a little bit closer, hooking their arm around Vanitas’ and squeezing his bicep.

“It’s super fucked up,” Vanitas gusts out, eventually tilting his head back, hitting the wall with a  _ thunk. _

_ _ “Which part? Seeing baby us or our baby selves attacking you?” Roxas asks.

“If you got attacked by your siblings’ baby selves would that be fucked up or what?” Xion suddenly asks.

There’s silence.

Vanitas surprises himself by guffawing - a dry bark of a sound before it devolves into gasping sobs. Roxas and Xion curl closer to their brother, both of them wrapping their arms around his shaking shoulders. They tremble with him, overwhelmed and confused. 

“I want to go  _ home,”  _ Vanitas whimpers. “Nothing makes  _ sense,  _ things aren’t where they’re supposed to be, I keep getting fucking  _ attacked  _ by people who look like my family but  _ aren’t  _ and I  _ HATE IT!”  _ The last part he almost screams, driving his arms down in an aggressive movement. Xion keens quietly, burying their face in their brother’s shoulder. Roxas sits up just enough to start grooming the side of Vanitas’ undercut, tongue rasping over the short bristles. Vanitas leans into the contact, tears streaming down his cheeks.

“Let’s go back to the room,” Xion suggests once Vanitas starts to calm down. “We can hide under one of the beds there. I don’t think anybody’s in, right now. Too busy exploring.”

“...yeah,” Vanitas sniffs, rubbings at his face with his sleeve. “That sounds pretty nice, actually.”

He lets his siblings help him to his feet, unashamedly gripping tight to the loose material of their shirts as they lead him back to the relative safety of the large room the pack had claimed for themselves. Thankfully, they don’t run into anybody else on the way there.

The moment the door clicks shut Vanitas starts stripping, bones popping and flesh rippling as he shifts into his were form. Roxas and Xion follow, their shift much smoother than his, and all three crawl under one of the beds placed against a wall. Vanitas smooshes himself as much against the wall as possible, letting his siblings squeeze in between him and the outside. Immediately Vanitas feels his strangled nerves start to settle, the buzzing tension easing away from his neck and hands. He sighs, resting his head against Xion’s flank. They purr, wiggling slightly so they can hook their chin over Roxas’s back. Roxas himself is the outermost wall, so to speak. He purrs back as he keeps watch, bright eyes glinting as he keeps them trained on the door.

There’s a warning ping over the heart connection before the door opens.

“Everything okay?” Ventus asks, tail twitching worriedly as he pads in.

“Baby selves attacked bro,” Xion speaks up, craning their head forward to meet Ventus’ eyes. Ventus tilts his own head to peek at Vanitas. Vanitas gives him a helpless look, letting his heart do the talking. Ventus chirps encouragingly at him, sending easy warmth and affection and  _ protectprotectprotectloveyou  _ over the jokingly named Sora Heart Hotel Network.

“I’ll hang out up here,” Ventus tells them, jumping up on the bed. “Fair warning, Sora’s probably on his way.”

“Hope he brings blankets,” Roxas mumbles. “Forgot to grab some on the way here.”

“I, for one, am grateful that he hoards blankets and pillows in his inventory,” Xion chirps. “Maybe he’ll have the fleece blankie on him!”

Vanitas, personally, could really use the lamb’s wool pillow Sora somehow got his hands on. In addition to being Super Comfy, the material is nice to run his hands through. But honestly he’ll take anything at this point. Something soft to pad this makeshift nest with would be great.

Sure enough, ten minutes later Sora pokes his head into the door, immediately homing in on the sibling fortress against the wall. He trots up to them with a trilling chirp, shamelessly squishing his head over Roxas and Xion to get a good look at Vanitas. Vanitas pushes him back out with an unhappy noise, not minding the intrusion that much, but if he didn’t stop Sora his brother would try to squeeze in anyway. Sora takes the rebuttal with good grace, wiggling back out. Roxas snaps lightly at his Other’s shoulder in irritation. 

“Blankie?” Xion prompts hopefully.

“Aw, you know I always have the good stuff on me,” Sora teases.

Sure enough, after a quiet  _ pop  _ of displaced air, soft blankets and pillows are carefully being shoved under the bed. Vanitas spots the small lamb’s wool pillow and gratefully tugs it close, burying his nose into the soft material. It smells like home and the handmade detergent Kaze likes to make. He rubs his face all over it, relaxing enough to start purring.

“You gonna be okay, Van?” Sora asks.

“Eventually,” Vanitas answers. “Just…  _ really  _ overwhelmed right now.”

“Okay,” Sora accepts easily. “I’ll hang out here, too. I brought snacks!”

“If you get cheese dust in my fur, I will  _ end  _ you,” Xion growls as Vanitas accepts a small baggie of cheese puffs.

“You’ll live,” Vanitas snorts, but makes sure to keep his messy snack as far away from Xion as possible.

“So how’re we gonna say sorry?”

Roxas hums at Xion’s question, kicking his heels over the edge of the clocktower. He gnaws at his ice cream, thinking. How does somebody say sorry when they’re really,  _ really  _ sorry? He has no idea. 

“Maybe Axel knows,” Roxas suggests. “We can ask him when he gets here.”

“Ask me what?” Axel asks as he saunters up, plopping down next to Roxas with a gusty sigh.

“Roxas made Olette mad,” Xion pipes up, making a lie up on the spot. “We’re trying to figure out how he can say sorry.”

“Oh, yikes,” Axel sympathizes. “What did you do?”   
“I don’t wanna talk about it,” Roxas sulks. He feels a little bad for lying, but he remembers how everybody else has been treating this other Vanitas and doesn’t want Axel to stop them.

“Must’ve been pretty bad,” Axel jokes, nudging Roxas’ arm. Roxas groans and bats him away. Xion giggles. “I dunno what to tell you, bud. Maybe flowers? Give her some flowers?”

“Why flowers?” Xion asks.

“I have no idea, but they’re pretty and smell nice,” Axel says with a shrug. “You can get flowers from a shop or go pick some yourselves. I think you’ll get extra brownie points if you go out and pick ‘em, though.”

“Huh,” Roxas hums, turning to look at Xion. She looks back at him. They both nod at each other. “Yeah, I’ll do that. Thanks, Axel.”

“No problem, bud,” Axel says, ruffling Roxas’ hair. 

The next morning, bright and early, Roxas and Xion walk out into a meadow full of flowers and start picking. They’d brought a basket to carefully lay their flowers in. Dandelions, poppies, daisies, black-eyed susans, and many other flowers were carefully bundled up and tied together with a ribbon. Then, feeling nervous and ashamed, they travel to the Land of Departure and enter the castle. They meekly avoided as many of the Visitors as possible, avoiding eye contact and clutching each other’s hand.

They stop outside of the door to the visitors’ claimed set of rooms. Roxas clutches his bouquet a little closer to his chest. Xion adjusts her grip on her own and knocks on the door. They wait. And wait. And wait.

The door opens.

The Other Roxas sticks his head out and glowers at them. Roxas and Xion flush automatically in shame. They shuffle a little closer to each other.

“What do you want,” the Other Roxas grits out, fangs visibly flashing behind his lips.

“We wanted to say sorry,” Roxas mumbles.

“Can we come in?” Xion asks, gathering her bravery to look the Other Roxas in the eye.

Other Roxas’ eyes narrow as he examines them, head tilting as he searches their faces. He looks at their flowers. He sighs and steps back, opening the door wider.

“C’mon, then,” he huffs, turning around to walk back into the room. “Close the door behind you.”

Roxas and Xion look at each other, take deep breaths, and walk in.

Vanitas, propped up against a transformed Sora with Xion lying across his legs, looks up as Roxas leads the Other twins into the den.

Why are they holding flowers.

Roxas returns to his spot flopped against Van’s side, keeping a baleful eye on his alternate self. Vanitas reluctantly sits up, resting his elbows on his knees. The alternate twins shuffle their feet, blushing.

“What’s up?” Vanitas asks, voice scratchy and raw from exhaustion.

“We’re sorry,” Alternate Xion mumbles.

“We’re really sorry,” Alternate Roxas adds on. “I’m sorry for attacking you.”

“Me too. We should’ve known better.”

“Can you forgive us?”

“We picked these for you,” Xion says, holding out her bundle of flowers, Roxas copying her half a beat later. 

Vanitas blinks in surprise. He reaches out and accepts the flowers.

“Thank you,” Vanitas says, feeling like he’s thanking them for more than the flowers. “I forgive you.”

“Anything else you want?”  _ His  _ Roxas grumps.

“Okay,” Alternate Xion says, flushing. “We’ll go now.”

“God, Rox, don’t be a dick,” Sora gripes, lashing his Nobody’s face with his tail.

“And I thought  _ I  _ was the resident asshole,” Vanitas quips, untying the ribbon of one of the bundles. “They said sorry and meant it. I forgive them. End of story.” He looks up at the younger alternates of his siblings. They’re so forgivably young and naive, so  _ baby.  _ He can’t hold a grudge against them any more than he can against his own sibs. “You wanna learn how to make a flower crown?”

“What’s a flower crown?” Baby Roxas asks.

“Oh oh oh can I have one?” Sora asks. 

“Go pick your own flowers,” Ventus teases from his spot in a patch of sunlight.

“But I’m comfyyyy,” Sora whines, stretching out.

Alternate Xion giggles and nervously kneels just outside of the nest. Vanitas’ Xion tosses a blanket and a pillow at their baby self and tells her to get comfortable. Then they bully Baby Roxas into helping them make a nest addition for him and his Xion. 

Vanitas patiently shows the alternate twins how to tie flower stems together, feeling something in his chest and around his shoulders loosen up. He’s got new allies in his corner, now. It feels… nice.

And yes, Sora gets a flower crown. He struts around the room in it, striking ridiculous poses and dragging a still grumpy Roxas into the impromptu flower fashion show. The younger Xion and Roxas giggle and relax, even shyly presenting Vanitas with a flower crown of his own. He wears it with all the respect it deserves.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also hope y'all had a good holiday and will have a fantastic New year!


	9. Footnote

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Accidents happen, but maybe they should have known better

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and we're back! hope everyone had a lovely holiday, or just had a good december if you don't celebrate anything. time for more vanitas angst

Nobody else attacks Vanitas directly, after the word gets passed around about you and your crew’s arrival, and the few first disastrous incidents between him and the residents of this universe.

It’s tense though, even worse than back when Vanitas first started integrating with your group and his siblings. Vanitas makes every attempt to just avoid all the natives of this universe when he can. You can tell he’s nervous, being in this place. You all are, on some level or another. Even Myde, who often goes through long periods of silence as he loses track of time. You think he’s entered that state willingly this time, curling around whichever body is closest and just.. Staying there. You’re worried about him, if you’re being honest. There is no Abyss here, and you have to wonder what it’s doing to him to be cut off from it.

The Aqua, Terra, and Ventus native to this universe are your hosts here, but it’s obvious to everyone that they’re trying to keep their distance while still keeping an eye on your group. There are frequent calls from Ienzo calling for data or samples. Other people filter through, some more than others. Several have formed odd friendships with their counterparts. Vanitas actively avoids all of them, and you can’t blame him.

“He’s really a good guy?” You hear the other Ventus ask one afternoon. He doesn’t see Vanitas just entering the room, Naminé with him.

Your Ven shrugs. None of them see Vanitas and Nami leave as quietly as they came, unseen by both. “I don’t know all the details, but I guess it was kinda just.. Right place at the right time sorta thing, yknow? Comet took him in, and yeah it was hard at first but eventually I started to see he was just.. lost.”

You’re at the top of the stairs, too far away to say anything to the boys or follow Vanitas, who you know is already long gone.

You rarely hear anything outright accusatory, you and yours were quick to take offence if it gets that far, but the more subtle stuff is harder to snuff out. It’s one of the bigger differences between your universes, even moreso than you and the moon beasts, and so is bound to garner some curiosity. You hear them sometimes. You can only imagine Vanitas hears more.

He spends a lot of time alone in the training yard, wacking the big rings around. You watch him as he pushes himself, out of breath. Sometimes you’d join him, but the last couple days has him on edge.

He attempts a fireball, and the magic fizzles sporadically, spitting the magic erratically and forcing you both to dodge. He roars angrily.

“Vanitas!” You call out, concerned more at his fitful reaction than the actual stumble, and jogging up to him. “You okay?”

“I’m fine.” He spits out. “Everything's just. Weird here.”

“Yeah, I know.” You do. Sometimes everything works exactly as intended, and sometimes it will errantly throw everything off. Even the magic is different here on some level apparently.

You spent the afternoon with him, going through the motions. When some of Van’s heart siblings show up later, all of them itching to move and spar it seems like it could be a good outlet for them. You should have known it would go badly.

At first it was just your crew, cooped up and nearly all of them some type of warrior, it was bound to happen really. Something was needed to keep them active and stave off the boredom. Even Myde pops in for a while to offer commentary before going dormant again, this time nestling deep into your own Terra’s fur. 

Several matches go by, and as usual it turns into a competition. Eventually some of the Others wander through, and get added into the mix. The Other Aqua stays on the sidelines, but Terra and Ven enter, despite obvious misgivings from both.

It’s all in good fun, and it gets light hearted enough the Other Aqua doesn’t even glare at Vanitas sitting next to you… much. 

Ven, your Ven, is cheering, currently at the top of whatever scorecard they’re keeping. You haven’t really been able to follow it, but he seems pretty stoked, so you cheer and clap along with everybody else.

“Alright! Who’s next? One more!” He calls with glee, scanning the gathered crowd. His eyes light on Vanitas.

“Hey Sulky! C’mon you haven’t done one yet, get out here!” He waves his keyblade enthusiastically. You instantly feel the Other Aqua’s gaze, more so than even the rest. Her lips thin and eyes narrow in distrust. You see your own Aqua leveling a serious stare at herself from across the field.

Vanitas lets himself be cajoled into a match.

The rules are simple, no kill blows, no transforming, use your common sense. It’s a fun match, and Ven and Van genuinely enjoy sparring when there isn’t so much pressure on them to kill each other. Vanitas has bloomed as a tactical thinker, but his strength is still in teleport maneuvers and coming out of them with powerful finishing blows. Ventus on the other hand is all about speed and not getting hit at all. Spars between them are always wars of attrition, who will get tired first, and very enjoyable to watch.

It’s several minutes into the mock battle, both participants panting and grinning, fuelled by adrenaline, when something about one of Vanitas’ teleport’s rings as off. You sit upright, worried but not able to really do anything about it.

He comes out on the other side of Ven, obviously far beyond here he’d meant to be. His keyblade was already raised, and he avoids bringing it down on the unprepared Namine, Roxas, and Other Ventus by a hairsbreadth.

The whole thing grinds to a halt. Vanitas stumbles back, shaking slightly.

“What happened-” Roxas starts to say. Namine still has her head covered. He doesn’t get to finish his question as others start clamouring in, and one voice in particular rings out angrily.

“I knew we shouldn’t have trusted you!” It’s the other Aqua. She’s stalking towards them, anger alight in her eyes. Vanitas’ keyblade disappears, and then so does he, vanishing into the darkness. It’s anyone’s guess where he’s gone, and with apparently even teleports at risk even Vanitas might not know.

You curse.

Isa touches your arm. 

“Go find Vanitas. We’ll take care of things here.” He assures. You nod. You want to defend him, explain, but Lea and Isa will surely be able to take care of it. You see Vanitas’ face in your mind. He’d looked terrified. You need to find him. Lea is already headed towards Aqua. Your own Aqua makes it there first. They’re shouting at each other, but you’re too preoccupied to make out the words.

Almost everyone had been out on the training grounds, so your run through the halls of the castle echo loudly through the empty spaces.

You don’t think to look up until pieces of paper flutter from the ceiling, practically in front of your nose. 

Vanitas sits on ledge high above you, accessible only by teleport or wall running. He’s ripping paper apart fervently, snarl on his face. 

You might not be able to teleport, but you call on the wind and do a lightning dash for good measure, just managing to grasp the edge of the ledge and pull yourself up next to him. There’s papers scattered around him, and you catch the words ‘report copy’ as well as a familiar name as he picks another one up. 

“Vanitas are you okay?”

“Shouldn’t you be asking Ventus that? Or Naminé?” He responds quietly, but not without feeling. 

“They’re fine, you didn’t hit them.”

“Barely.”

“It was an accident Van.”

“I knew things were weird here. I shouldn’t have gone out there at all.” He tears a long strip out of the paper, crunching it in his hands. You reach out to touch him, try to pull him in for a hug, but he flinches away. You put your hand down. It hurts, but you understand that sometimes touch isn’t helpful for him.

He scrubs a palm over his cheek, as though roughly brushing his hair out of his eyes. You both know better. He tears the paper into smaller pieces. 

“What is that?”

“Stuff the old man wrote. Ven gave me a copy a while back.” He says. The rip of paper echoes in the dim silence. “It’s mostly about Ventus.”

He stares at the half a page left in his hand. He rips that two with a scowl. 

You wonder how long he’s had those pages on him, because it had to have been before coming here, and he had to have them with him when you were all brought to this universe.

“Years-  _ years _ I spent under him,  _ beaten _ by him, and I’m barely a  _ footnote _ .” He throws the ripped pieces away violently. They flutter downward, soft and uncaring of the emotion with which they’d been tossed. He stands, the ledge suddenly feels too small. 

“He made us, tore us apart, used me as a tool and then left me like this! I thought I could be more but all I seem to do is gravitate towards hurting people, and it’s all  _ his _ fault! I never wanted to be made like this!”

He’s almost shouting by the time he finishes, tears streaming down his face. You’re crying yourself. You don’t dare stand, there isn’t enough room, but you reach up, palms upward, silently asking. It takes every particle of restraint in your soul not to pull him in, to hold your heart together, to not go out and murder Xehanort all over again. 

He looks at you, face broken and disconsolate, before practically throwing himself into your arms. You want to say something, anything, but you’re crying too hard yourself. 

“I love you, you’re so much more than that, he doesn’t know anything, I love you, I love you..” you murmur into his hair as he cries into your shirt. 

The remaining pages flutter down. 

You both sit on the ledge, leaning on each other’s shoulders, heads pounding from tears but unwilling to move. It’s quiet up here, and no ones come looking for you yet, though you know it’s been some time. You’re grateful. 

“No one asks to be born.” You say eventually, voice feeling sharp and loud in the stillness. “That’s why it’s the parents job to make a child’s life good, happy. Make them feel welcome. Xehanort failed you on every front, and  _ none _ of that is your fault, Van.”

You take a deep breath. You haven’t quite hit the heart of the matter yet.

“Sometimes accidents happen. They happen to me, to Sora, to Roxas and Xion. Naminé. And yes, sometimes when accidents happen people get hurt. That doesn’t mean that’s all you are. That doesn’t mean we don’t still love you.”

You feel him nod against you, looking drawn out and tired. You pet the side of his head with one hand, slow comforting strokes, just to make sure he knows you’re there. That you love him. It hurts your heart that this still affects him, but you know from first hand experience that these things are hard, and some days are going to be worse than others. The constant stress and reminders of a life now past for him are only fuel on the fire.

He sits up, rubbing at his eyes, and then you hear voices calling out. It’s Lea and Isa. You look over at Vanitas. 

“You ready to go, or do you want to stay a little longer?” 

He shakes his head. 

“You go. I’m gonna stay here a bit.”

You nod, pressing a kiss to the top of his head, and jump down from the ledge. 

Lea catches you. Isa has to catch Lea. They’re both full of worried questions, but you hold off on answering just a bit to hold them both in a tight hug. 

They allow the delay, for which you’re grateful. You’ll explain in a minute. 

——-

Vanitas stays there most of the afternoon. 

He can see the sun setting through the tall stained glass windows lining the halls. It’s peaceful here. No ones come to bother him. The papers are gone. 

He closes his eyes. 

There’s the slight tip of sandals and a rustle of fabric. Namine sits next to him. He doesn’t know how she got up here. 

She holds out her hand. He looks at it, unsure, for several long moments. She smiles in that way that tells him everything he needs to know.

He takes it. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is another older one actually, though i don't think it shows its age as much as some of the others. i didn't actually realise how old it was until i was editing and had to take out a bunch of canon!sora (which means the first draft of this was written before 3 came out lol). i also remember writing this specifically because i was rereading the bbs reports and thinking 'wow xehanort you literally ruined this kids life for your machinations but you barely even mention him as part of your big plans that's fucking cold'
> 
> also yes, that was originally a steven universe quote in there (you know the one "i never asked to be made"), but as edits kept being made and the story expanded, i had to modify it a bit so it still flowed properly. the spirit of it is still there though.
> 
> so yeah. van is stressed af still, poor kid. that's probably not gonna change for a while. the aqua's are butting heads, which i would pay to see. namine is trying her best to help in her own way


	10. Cognizance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Namine is basically a cryptid

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i enjoy writing from namine's pov a lot. i wish i did it more

Naminé likely has the most freedom of all her compatriots in this universe and she knows it.

It’s somewhat uncomfortable, knowing she could go places and do things her friends cannot, or don’t feel comfortable doing, but it’s also nice. She’s so used to keeping to herself and trying her best not to make any more waves in the universe. It’s almost refreshing to be the one depended on to get simple things like food and necessities for her friends when they don’t feel up to facing their alternate universe counterparts.

Apparently she’s close enough in temperament and look to her counterpart here that she doesn’t make the native inhabitants of this universe nervous, and how odd was that after years of being told she gave of an aura of strangeness?

Okay, perhaps that was mostly DiZ. Haru tells her it’s endearing, but she’s quite certain he’s biased.

She wanders the wide and golden halls of the Land of Departure without fear, aware of the privilege she has in doing so. She sees the Other Aqua at a distance and stops where she is, staring unblinking until the older woman moves on.

She remembers what she tried to do to Vanitas, her friend. She will continue to remember as long as necessary.

She stops in the kitchen and is surprised to find her own Terra there. He smiles kindly at her and offers her a morsel of the batter he’s mixing. It’s some kind of cake mix, she thinks. She accepts, and delights in its taste.

“It’s not my kitchen so it feels kinda weird, but baking calms my nerves a bit and I really need that right now.” He admits to her quietly. She understands that. She rests what she hopes is a comforting hand on his bicep before picking up some snacks from the pantry and then moving on.

She doesn’t know why she’s getting snacks right now. She’s not hungry, no one has told her to get anything. It’s just a feeling, and if she’s learned anything from her short years of life, it’s that she should trust her intuition. 

She turns down the hall towards the rooms her friends and family have sequestered themselves in. Haru appears at her side like a ghost. He says nothing, asks no questions. She appreciates that about him, he puts no pressure on her beyond what she feels ready to give at any given time. 

She finds Roxas and Xion in a makeshift pillow and blanket fort, curled tightly in the center.

“Chips?” She asks, holding out the puffed cheese flavoured ones she knows Xion favours. Roxas smiles gratefully, taking the bags.

“Thank you.” He says. Xion hums, and she sees Roxas rub the seashell he carries in one hand pensively.

“Are you doing okay, Xion?” She asks. They’ve been doing exercises together, trying to keep Xion grounded, but in this place everything is a hit or miss. Xion sighs, laying on their back and staring at the ceiling of blankets.

“I’m okay as okay can be. Will I see you tonight?”

“I’ll be there for you as long as you want me.” Naminé assures, and is delightfully pleased to see Xion smile.

“Always.”

Naminé takes the simple pleasure she gets from that smile and tucks it close to her heart as Roxas shoos them from the cramped space. The jaguar curls closer to Xion, and Naminé and Haru leave them to it.

“Think you’ll ever tell them?” Haru asks. Naminé doesn’t have to ask what he’s talking about.

“I already have more than I deserve.” Naminé shakes her head and her hand barely twitches in search of another to hold it. Haru clasps it without needing any further prompting. “They’re happy, or at least they were before this mess. I wouldn’t intrude on that.”

He sighs through his nose like he always does when this comes up.

“How is it you know so much but you don’t know this?”

“I don’t know that much, Haru.” Naminé shakes her head. “I just see between the lines.”

“And yet you have no idea how hard they’re crushing on you.” He smirks down at her and she pouts.

“Haruuu.” Naminé wasn’t prone to whining, but Haru was one of the few who could draw it from her. His smirk only grows wider.

“They’re crushing on you.”

“Haru I can’t- I can’t ask that of them. I helped take their life once.”

“You get to buy my next pen set if I’m right.” He continues as if he hadn’t heard her. She huffs at his stubbornness, but she’s also grateful. It would be all too easy for him to point out that she’d broken him once too, and yet he still stayed by her side.

She doesn’t feel like she deserves his love either, but a selfish part of her won’t let her push him away.

They continue down the wide and empty hallways, little bag still clutched in Naminé’s left hand.

They hear voices down the way, at first indistinct, but growing clearer as they draw near.

“I don’t know what that means.”

“Is your keyblade still the same?”

“How’d you end up with… well all them?”

Naminé and Haru exchange a glance and then break into a run.

They come into a slightly smaller but still gratuitously large library section of the castle. The Land of Departure has many such sections for its many stores of books scattered about its halls. Ven and Terra have all but cornered Vanitas, and they must be the stranger Ven and Terra, because Vanitas has a wide eyed look Naminé knows the feel of all too well. He’s only seconds from shifting and snapping at the two cornering him (does Ventus know his light has burned away Van’s escape routes? She doubts it), and that can only end badly.

Vanitas makes a sign;  _ ‘Back off!’ _ that is completely ignored by the other two, who if anything lean closer curiously.

“Hey!” Haru calls, pulling their attention away. “Stop crowding him!”

Vanitas looks eternally grateful as the two not-quite-strangers lean away, and Naminé feels the darkness of a pending teleport building around him dissipate as she walks through them to take his hand and pull him away. He follows quietly, and she leaves the reprimands to Haru as she tugs Vanitas to a different corner of the library, obscured from nearly all sides.

“Are you okay?” She asks quietly. He flashes her the  _ ‘all good now’ _ sign as he sits in a corner with his back to both walls, knees curled up to his chest. She sits next to him, not quite close enough to touch, but close enough that he could if he wanted to.

Naminé places one hand on the ground between them, an invitation with no pressure. A few minutes later, she feels Van’s hand rest atop her own.

They listen to Haru berate the strange Ven and Terra. Vanitas huffs a laugh at a particularly vicious remark from Haru.

“They don’t know our signs, do they?” Naminé murmurs during a lull, and she feels Vanitas tense next to her.

_ ‘No Comet.’  _ He gestures, lifting his hand from Naminé’s. She tilts her head.

“I thought it was Leon’s system?”

_ ‘Comet taught us.’ _ Vanitas shrugs, and she concedes the point. Squall had come up with the system, but it had been Comet who had spread it about the kids, especially when it became clear that several of them were prone to Bad Days of varying types.

“True.”

They stay there until Haru joins them, face flushed and still glaring. Naminé hands out the snacks she’d been keeping, a small assortment of all three of their favourites. Eventually they get up, knowing it’s near dinner and they’ve been gone too long already. The rest of the pack has to be anxious, it’s a wonder they haven’t been hunted down already.

They find Ventus, their own Ventus, near the kitchens, where Terra is putting the finishing touches on a masterfully decorated carrot cake. He lights up on seeing them, only for his brow to furrow at Vanitas’ hunched posture.

“What happened?” He asks. 

_ ‘Got crowded. Naminé helped.’ _ Vanitas returns.  _ ‘Fine now.’ _

Ven thumps his fist twice against his chest in silent acknowledgment. He’s not as fluent as Van is, but he knows enough to get the point across.

_ ‘Gotcha.’ _

“What was that?” Comes a voice from the door opposite them. They look up to find the Other Aqua there, squinting suspiciously.

“What was what?” Ven crosses his arms in a deliberate show of defiance. Naminé gnaws her lip anxiously, sensing the brewing tension.

“Those hand signs, being all sneaky. What are you planning?”

Terra sighs, and sets aside the dirty mixing bowl he’d been planning to clean. He turns toward Aqua. He’s not in bear form but he still towers over her.

“I’m grateful you’re letting us use your home when we have nowhere else to go, I am.” He starts, his voice low and level. “But why do you let us be here when you obviously trust us so little?”

It does not go beyond anyone’s notice that he’s moved to place himself deliberately between Aqua and the kids.

For a moment she looks… hurt. Naminé wants to reach out, but she won’t when someone she cares about will be hurt more by her doing so.

“I…”

“It was hard for us too.” Terra continues. “And yeah, we failed more than either me or my Aqua care to admit, but-” He leans forward. “None of us are going to let you harass him. He’s been through enough. Leave him alone.”

“I’m not doing it to harass him!” Aqua bursts out, anger filling her features. “I’m just trying to keep  _ my _ Ventus safe!”

Naminé hears Vanitas and Ven inhale sharply.

Vanitas opens his mouth, but however much their time in the library might have settled him, he’s clearly not up to talking still. She feels his hands shake.

She listens to her intuition, and pulls him forward.

“What do you want to say?” She asks quietly, but loud enough Aqua can hear her too.

Vanitas lifts his hands.

“I don’t want to hurt Ventus.” She translates as she watches his hands move, his gaze locked on this stranger that looks like Aqua. “Not mine, not yours. I know why you can’t forgive.. me-not-me? Oh, the other Vanitas. I’m not asking you to. Just leave me alone.”

Aqua’s expression shifts just slightly, and then she turns on her heal and leaves.

“Think it helped?” Haru asks, stepping closer. Vanitas shrugs, but doesn’t look particularly optimistic.

Naminé feels the shift in the air though, and feels a touch of hope.

“You wanna help us bake, Van?” Ventus asks. “We’re making croissants next.”

Naminé feels the tremble of Vanitas’ anxiety calm just slightly as he hesitates, and then nods.

She takes a seat, and waits patiently for the inevitable offerings of dough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> should we have done a chapter about the kids learning sign? probably. did we? no. onto the 'prompts we may or may not ever get to' pile it went and still is. have we mentioned we write hilariously out of order yet? the fact that this one has been on the prompts list since like. part 7 probably says a lot about how likely we are to get to it though. * shrug emoji *


	11. Apologies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aqua realizes she's gone too far

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> these were originally two seperate chapters, but honestly we've drug out aqua's antagonism too much already. beleive it or not she's one of our fave's, and she's complicated but it was starting to feel a little bit much. so time to wrap this up

Sora jogs through the halls with a skip in his step and a smile on his face. Both are forced but he forces them anyway because by the end of these runs sometimes they’re even real. Riku jogs at his side, steadier and less bouncy, keeping pace effortlessly. 

Sora needs these jogs to keep him moving. Being cooped up in this castle was doing nothing good for him. It gave him far too much time to think. Too much time to contemplate the gnawing emptiness in his chest, or the slowly emptying bottle he keeps on his hip pouch. 

He misses Elise. He’s gonna have a heck of a story for her when he gets home. 

But in the meantime he jogs, staying within the castle limits at the behest of his family and the owners of said castle. 

… well mostly anyway. 

Sometimes Kairi pulls him out into the woods or mountains just to get away. Riku is less inclined to such direct shenanigans, but even he feels the need to simply abscond with his partners sometimes. 

Riku joins Sora on his jogs most often. Kairi isn’t fond of it and Riku says it helps him think. Sora likes to tease that he just needs the exercise. 

The halls are large and have little obstruction, so when he sees Ventus at the far end, peering around the next corner, Sora doesn’t think he’s managed to sneak up on the boy. 

“Hey Ven!” He calls as they near. Ven jumps upright with a shout, clearly startled. 

“Jeez you nearly gave me a heart attack.” Ventus complains. 

Sora knows given how short this Ventus is that this isn’t his heart sibling, but habit has him giving the air a quick sniff to be sure. 

Yep, human. Definitely not _ his _ Ven. 

“What were you doing?” Riku asks. Ven’s look almost instantly turns to guilt. 

“Nothing.” He says far too quickly. Sora moves around the boy to peek around the corner and brightens at what he sees.

“Oh hey look there’s Van- Hey Va-!” Sora starts to call, only to be cut off as Ventus jerks him back out of sight. 

“What are you doing?” Ven hisses. Sora tilts his head obliviously and Riku sighs.

“I was calling out to Van. Oh, is that rude here? I can use the heart connection instead-” Sora says and Ven shakes his head rapidly.

“Nononono, you don’t have to do that. We’re fine here. I was just leaving, actually.” Ven says, and yet makes no attempt to move away. Riku’s eyes narrow to a glare, and Sora does his best guileless naivety impression.

“Why are you spying on Vanitas? He’s not stupid and you’re probably making him even twitchier than he already is.” Riku says frankly, and now it’s Sora’s turn to sigh.

“Riku-”

“The puppy eye naive guilt trip wasn’t going to work this time, Sora.” Riku says, though there’s an indulgent smile across his lips. “I’m just getting to the point.”

Ven scuffs one foot across the ground, looking shame faced.

“I didn’t mean to. It’s just. It’s weird. Why is yours so different?”

Sora and Riku exchange a glance.

“You know.. He’s not, right?” Riku says. “When he first showed up, he hid from all of us. He didn’t know what living meant if it wasn’t under Xehanort. It took him, and us, a long time to get to where we are now.”

If anything Ven looks even more miserable.

“So we could have saved him?” He whispers, and both Sora and Riku are all too aware that they’re not talking about _ their _ Vanitas anymore.

“In the Graveyard? No.” Sora shakes his head. “We have to do what we can.. But he had to make those first steps himself. If he hadn’t decided to open himself up to us, there wasn’t anything we could have done.”

“And sometimes that means just getting lucky. Vanitas found someone who was willing to care about him at just the right time in just the right place. No one could have forced him to care.”

“I am stubborn like that.” 

“Ah!” Ventus shouts and stumbles away from the voice that suddenly pipes up from just behind him. He all but falls into Sora as Vanitas watches on with a flat expression.

“You know instead of being a creeper you could just come talk to me, right?” Vanitas huffs and then rolls his eyes. "Y'know, provided you learn some cues when someone is trying to tell you to back off."

Ventus winces and rubs one arm, embarrassed, but he nods and Vanitas dubs it as sincere.

"Well, that and..." He mutters something Vantias doesn't catch.

“Oh.” Sora winces, having apparently heard it. Vanitas quirks his head in silent question. “Aqua’s forbidden him from going near you.”

“Are you surprised?” Vanitas snorts. “It took ours years to get used to me and that’s when I _ wasn’t _ dropped in her lap and living in her house with the people she cares about most.”

“It wasn’t that long.” Riku sighs, but concedes the point. “But you’re right, even if it is… overbearing. Speaking of, why are you not using the buddy system?”

“Because I’m an introvert and I was literally going crazy being around people constantly.” Vanitas returns flatly. “It was five minutes and no one uses this hallway when they’re not using it to spy on people.”

Fair enough, Riku shrugs. Ventus’ shoulders hunch at the indirect recrimination.

“Use the shadows? Weirdo Aqua definitely can’t get you there.” Sora suggests, but Vanitas shakes his head.

“Myde’s there pretty much constantly since there’s no Abyss. Wouldn’t exactly be alone.”

A phone buzzes, interrupting them, and three out of the four of them start going through pockets trying to figure out who’s phone it was.

Vanitas, the only one who doesn’t use the default tone for any of his calls and didn’t have his phone with him anyway, watches with amusement.

It turns out to be Ventus, who flicks on the screen and finds the Riku of this universe looking back.

“Ven- Oh.” His face closes off and he draws away from the screen as he sees the other Riku and Sora, who are both framed in the shot. Ven glances over and then shifts the camera so they’re no longer in view. He gives the other three an apologetic look and starts to walk away, phone in hand.

“Hey Riku, what’s up?” They hear Ven say as he retreats.

Sora finds his gaze on the floor, deep in thought. He doesn’t know when he reaches out to take Riku’s hand in his, but he clutches it tightly all the same.

“Sora?” Vanitas asks, probably feeling the turmoil over the connection. Sora shakes his head.

“Riku is… all alone here, isn’t he?”

“He called Ventus.” Vanitas says, but even he knows that’s not what Sora had meant.

“Probably checking in, making sure nothing’s blown up.” The Riku Sora is holding the hand of says.

“Kairi gone, the other me went after her…” Sora bites his lip and then looks up at Riku. “What would you do?”

Riku looks back into Sora’s eyes quietly for a long, long moment, clearly not sure if he should answer.

“Something stupid, probably.”

“Yeah, I thought so.” Sora sighs. “I get why, but I kinda want to kick other me’s butt right now.”

Vanitas snorts a laugh.

“Hypocritical much?”

“I’m gonna!” Sora pokes at Vanitas, two parts pouting and one part teasing. “I’m gonna find the Elise of this universe and I’m gonna tell the other Riku to get his and my butt in therapy with her!”

Riku laughs a little at that, and it makes Sora feel just a little bit better just to hear it. He leans against Riku’s shoulder, still holding his hand.

“He’s too stupid to realise what he’s doing.” Sora adds more quietly. “How much it hurts the people around him.”

“No.” Riku says. “He’s just him. Just like you’re just you, and that’s why everybody loves both.”

Sora smiles as Riku tucks his chin on top of his head, and then giggles as Vanitas makes an exaggerated groaning noise.

“Alright, alright, I’ll go find my buddy just so I can get away from how sappy you two are. Stars.”

Sora pokes his tongue out at Vanitas’ retreating back. Riku laughs, and Sora feels the rumble in his chest in the best way.

“We should make sure he gets to someone safe.” Riku says. Sora nods in agreement.

“Yeah probably. Knowing this place he’ll definitely get in trouble in the five minutes between here and there.”

-

Ventus approaches Aqua’s room tentatively, hesitance something he isn’t prone to and in truth could stand to do less of in his opinion. He clutches Chirithy a little tighter as he stares at the closed door, listening to the muffled voices within.

“You can do it.” They say, all warm confidence. “It’s just a talk.”

A talk that could easily go wrong, Ventus thinks, but doesn’t say. Chirithy reaches up to pat his cheek with one paw, and then settles back into his embrace.

Ven listens to the voices again, hearing Aqua’s familiar tones on the other side rise in pitch, one he well recognizes as frustration. He leans in closer, not really meaning to eavesdrop, but wanting to know exactly what he might be walking into.

“Why don’t we just send them somewhere else?” He hears Terra’s voice. “You’re stressed, I get it, but..”

“No.” He hears Aqua reply sharply. “I want them where I can see them.”

Ven winces. He’s only going to be adding fuel to the fire if that’s what they’re talking about. Maybe he should come back later...

Before he can turn to walk away however, Chirithy reaches out and knocks on the door for him.

“Chiri!” He hisses, but the damage is done. Steps approach, and a moment later the door opens and Aqua stands before him.

“Oh, Ven.” She says with a smile that’s soft despite the evident bags beneath her eyes and the stress accumulating between her brows. “Was there something you needed?”

He straightens, and Chirithy holds his arm tightly in support. No going back now.

“I.. Wanted to talk to you. About the others.”

“Oh.” She says. It’s all too obvious who he means by ‘others’. “We were just talking about them. Come on in.”

She steps aside to let him in, and he enters without fanfare. Terra is sitting on the chair at Aqua’s desk, so Ven sits on the edge of the bed, settling Chirithy in his lap. Aqua returns to what Ven assumes she was doing before; pacing the room restlessly.

Terra gives Ven a half-smile and a shrug. Ven doesn’t have it in him to return it, gut churning with trepidation.

“I think you should apologize.” Ventus blurts out in a rush. Aqua halts mid step and Terra chokes on his own spit.

“Apologize?” She asks, clearly stunned. Ven fiddles with Chirithy’s paws absentmindedly, which the spirit seems all too happy to let him do.

“Y- Yeah.” He says, words caught in his throat. Aqua pivots to face him fully, and he feels almost small under her gaze.

“You’re going to have to explain to me, Ven.” She says. Her voice is hard but not accusing, and he takes some comfort in that.

“It’s just.. You’ve been really hard on them, is all.” He mutters, losing steam. Chirithy sits upright and pats him, trying to help him bring the words out.

“Hard on them?” Terra seems a little surprised too. “We’ve barely talked to them, except when one of them shows up for food.”

“That’s what I mean.” Ven says. “The most a lot of them have seen you at all is that time you attacked one of them.”

“I won’t apologize for that.” Aqua asserts. “For all I knew he was here to hurt you again. For I know he still might be.”

“He’s not though!” Ventus protests, frustration in his voice. “And he wasn’t then!”

“Ven.. You don’t know that.” Terra says quietly, trying to mediate, but it just makes Ven all the more frustrated.

“They’re from another universe. We have no idea what these people might be capable of.” Aqua nods.

“You don’t know he’ll attack me either.” Ven manages to bite out. “Why are you just assuming all the changes have to be bad?”

Aqua is taken aback by that, and stands silent for a long moment. When she does finally speak, it’s in a voice barely above a whisper.

“Because I want to keep you safe.” 

“Why don’t you just lock me in my room then, like how Master Eraqus kept me locked in this castle?” Ven bites back and immediately regrets it. He pulls Chirithy close as he watches all colour drain from Aqua’s face.

“Ven!” Terra barks, but the damage is done. Aqua shakes her head.

“No. He’s right. I’m reacting because I’m scared. I’m sorry, Ven.”

Chirithy squeaks a little at how tight he’s holding them, and Ven tries to loosen his grip to mild success.

“I’m sorry too.” He returns. He shouldn’t have gone there. “But I meant what I said. I’ve been watching them. They’re all alone here, constantly afraid someone is going to attack someone they love. I think apologizing would help.”

Aqua sighs.

“I just.. Maybe they are fine, but Ven- if they're not... If they're not, and something happens, I couldn't deal with that, Ven. Not again." Her voice breaks, and he sees the fear and pain she's been carrying all too clearly. It's the same one that haunts Terra in the dark of night, and that keeps Ventus from sleeping all too often. He should have realized it haunts her waking hours too, and feels bad he hadn't seen it for what it was.

Maybe they _all_ still needed to work on being better friends.

Ven stands and pulls one of Aqua's hands into his own.

"I can take care of myself, Aqua, and I trust you to protect me if I need it, but is it really okay to make their lives here miserable on the _chance_ that they might try something?"

Aqua stares downwards, clearly at war with herself and knowing Ventus is right.

"They haven’t explained anything about themselves, why certain things are different. It makes me nervous.”

“Well..” Terra says slowly. “I guess... we could always ask?”

Aqua looks at him, and then looks back at Ven, clearly turning the thought over in her head, clearly still trepidatious.

“Please Aqua.” Ven tries again. “If you don’t trust them, at least trust _me.”_

And what response could she have to that but ‘Yes’?

-

A day later finds Aqua outside the door to the little off-wing the Others had holed up in. Her hand hovers over the door, hesitant. She doesn’t know who will all be present. Maybe this was a bad idea.

“It’s not food time, why are you here?” The voice startles her as a face phases through the door. It’s the eldritch one, Myde, and every blinking eye seems to be glaring accusingly at her.

“I-” Her voice comes out strangled, and she clears her throat to try again. “I’d like to speak with Vanitas.”

“Fat chance.” The shadow man snorts, and then vanishes into the wood of the door. She takes a deep breath and knocks anyway.

It’s a long few moments before someone opens the door just a crack, revealing Lea on the other side.

“Haven’t you don’t enough?” He growls lowly. She stands her ground, refusing to be intimidated.

“No. Yes. I’d like to apologize.” She says frankly. Lea seems surprised, blinking owlishly, before shutting the door again. She hears voices on the other side, but can’t make them out. She waits, patient despite the anxiety gnawing at her.

The door opens again, wider this time. A number of the visitors have clustered in a semi-circle and at least two have weapons drawn, including the one she doesn’t recognize. They stand protectively behind Vanitas, who has his hands stuffed into the pockets of an oversized hoodie.

He stares at her without a word. She tries her best not to fidget.

The Other Aqua is tense as a bowstring, watching her every move with careful precision. She sees the Other Ven reach up to hold her sleeve and whisper something to her, which she barely catches even in the quiet.

“It’ll be okay. Trust me, Aqua.” The Other Aqua’s stance loosens just slightly in response, though she’s obviously still watching.

Aqua’s heart clenches. At least some things were the same.

She redirects her attention to the one she came here for, Vanitas. He looks back at her, and now that she’s looking she can see the guarded distrust in his features as more than malicious secrecy. She’s sees a stressed teenager that she’s hurt, and her heart clenches more.

“I’m sorry.” She starts. Simple, but hopefully effective. “I made assumptions when you all came here and they have proven to be erroneous. I regret the harm I have caused, and creating an environment none of you feel safe in. Whatever you ask of me, I will do my best to ensure it done.”

She hates that she is leaving herself open to him like this, leaving herself to his will, but she didn’t know what else to do. There were no gifts here that could make this situation better. No words that could undo what had been done.

She categorically refused to bow, however.

“You practice that speech?” Is the glib response that has her hackles up almost instantly. She forcibly shoves them back down, reminding herself that this Vanitas may be uncouth and blunt, but he hadn’t actually done anything to earn her ire (despite ample opportunity to do so).

“Yes.” She says, refusing to be embarrassed by this. “I made a mistake. Many mistakes. I didn’t want to make things worse with ill-thought words.”

He casts his gaze aside, thoughtful. 

“Anything?” He asks, clearly referring to her offered favour. She nods.

“So long as it is reasonable and brings no harm to anyone.” She clarifies. He snorts.

“Antidepressants.”

She blinks.

“What?” That wasn’t what she expected at all.

“You heard me.” He says. “Sora’s almost out and I’m not far behind him. We want to stay somewhat functional, but we can’t exactly go to our usual place and get a refill. You can.”

Aqua doesn’t know the first thing about prescriptions and refills, but if there is one thing she does know, it’s research. She can figure it out.

“I’ll get right on it then.”

She holds a hand out. He looks at it, and the back up at her face, distrust writ across his features.

“Right.” She lets her hand fall. “Thank you for hearing me out.”

“Sure.” He mutters. She pivots on her heel and strides out of the room. She finds Terra- not hers, the other one, holding Chirithy outside.

Chirithy reaches for her and Other Terra gracefully hands them into her waiting arms.

“I think,” He says. “We should start over. My name’s Terra, I turn into a bear. I’ve got a lovely bunch of friends inside once they warm up, and I hope we can be friends too.”

He holds out a hand, and after a moment’s hesitation, she takes it.

“It’s nice to meet you, Terra. I would like that.”

He gives her a smile exactly like the one she’s sees on her own Terra most days, albeit not quite so high up, and bids her good day. She walks away, steps confident but shaking internally.

She hopes dearly she is making the right decision.

“I’m so proud of you.” Chirithy says, wrapping their tiny arms around her neck in a much needed hug.

“Thank you.” She murmurs, hugging the little spirit back. “Let’s go find Ven.”

“Oh yes!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> things are finally on the mend, thank goodness


	12. Spare

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One apology does not trust make; or at least, not according to Haru.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Haru is a massive worrywart, but in his defence, things have been not great lately

Naminé has wandered off again. 

Alright, so  _ technically  _ she was still with Vanitas, probably, and thus still employing the buddy system... but when Haru had left them they had still been with Sora, except he'd just seen Sora down in the common with Comet. Which meant Naminé was alone with Vanitas.

It wasn’t that Haru didn’t trust Vanitas. Far from it, he trusted Vanitas at his back almost as much as he trusted Sora. It was that he didn’t trust these other-universe people not to attack Vanitas again, and he didn’t trust Naminé to not put herself in the line of fire for someone she cared about. 

The self sacrifice thing  _ had _ to be some kind of Sora genetic. 

Or, and he had to consider the possibility, Naminé might end up breaking someone’s soul or something in self defence. That would also be bad, though not quite as bad as throwing herself in the line of fire. Mostly because there was every chance it could go like everyone else’s powers in this universe and misfire spectacularly. 

He’d done the mind-break thing once already, thanks. 

The  _ point _ was, Haru was trying to hunt down Naminé, and having a low-key anxiety attack in the process. 

He was keeping a lid on it. Mostly. Or he’d thought he was, until he’d run head first into a semi-familiar log of a chest as he sprinted from room to room in his haste.

“Woah are you okay, Riku?”

“Shut up I’m not Riku, have you seen Naminé?” Haru glares up at the Other Terra balefully, fists clenching and unclenching sporadically in an attempt to calm himself. He doesn’t ask about Vanitas, much as he’d like to. He doesn’t trust these outsiders not to react badly even at the mention of him. Aqua may have apologized, but he didn't necessarily trust them yet, and no one had seen hide nor hair of Axel in some time. It made him nervous.

Stars, he misses Kaze. She had a talent for diffusing these things that he’d never been able to pick up. What was that thing she told him to do, when thoughts started to run away with him? Breathe in, count, breathe….

“Oh, uh, sorry, no.” Terra blinks at him. Haru lets out his breath in a gust and moves on, not wanting to waste any more time with the pointless conversation. Breathing exercises later, Naminé first, thinking about how he was back to being the Riku Clone never.

And that was the other thing, wasn’t it?

No one back home really confused him for Riku anymore. Between the hair and general countenance (not to mention the apparent age difference), it was pretty easy to tell them apart. Plus everyone  _ knew _ him. Even once they’d gotten older and both hit their adult height everyone knew both boys well enough to tell them apart with ease.

Here? He was the same age as Riku again, physically anyways, and apparently everyone saw silver hair and didn’t bother checking twice.

_ Honestly _ , you’d think with hair down past his shoulders it would be something of a tip-off to this lot.

So that’s why Haru doesn’t go outside the self-imposed boundaries marked by his friends and family much, and that’s why, now that he’s attempting to hunt down Naminé, he is  _ hopelessly lost. _

He’s checked the whole castle, he swears. It’s times like this he curses both Van and Nami’s penchant for hiding in obscure nooks. He pauses for only a moment, trying to catch his breath, glancing out the gratuitously tall stained glass windows to the scenery below.

He hadn’t checked outside yet.

They weren’t supposed to stray far, the floating mountains outside the immediate area of the castle could be treacherous if one wasn’t used to navigating them, but that would hardly stop those two if they got in their heads to go out. It’d be away from people at the very least, something both wayward souls favoured.

Haru makes his way downstairs, towards the large entrance. It doesn’t occur to him that  _ he _ doesn't know these mountains either, and without either a buddy or exceptionally useful-if-on-the-fritz teleportation powers, he was much less equipped to go out then either Vanitas or Naminé were.

His focus was lazer guided, which is why he ran face first into someone for the second time in less than twenty minutes.

“Ow, jeez sorry-” A familiar voice stutters. Haru looks up from where he’s been knocked flat on his ass (a testament to the sturdiness of the person he’d just run into) and finds none other than Riku. It has to be the  _ other _ Riku since he hasn’t seen his Originator wear that outfit in years. He’s rubbing his jaw… likely where Haru’s had smacked into it likely, Haru realises as his own chin starts to throb. Riku reaches out a hand.

“I didn’t see you. You must be the other me.”

Haru scowls.

“I know I’m a copy but we’re not that alike.” Haru grumps, pushing himself off the floor and ignoring the hand. He dusts himself off, grumbling. “Have you seen Naminé? Ours, not yours.”

Silence greets him, and Haru looks up to see Riku looking.. Stunned? No that can’t be right. Unless something happened to Naminé. Had something happened to Naminé?

“You’re.. You’re the replica.”

“Genius observation really.” Haru snarks. “Focus. Naminé. Where.”

“She’s sitting on the steps outside with.. I’m guessing Vanitas?” Riku answers, and Haru wastes no time stepping around him to look out the open door. Sure enough, down on the bottom of the second set of steps nearly out of sight are two familiar heads of yellow and black hair, hale and hearty and absolutely fine. Haru feels his breath leave him in relief, and all of a sudden realises how brusque he’s been in his anxiety.

“Sorry.” He grunts, embarrassed. “I just.. It’s..”

“It’s fine.” Riku replies easily. “You seemed like you were worried.”

“It gets away from me sometimes.” It’s out of Haru’s mouth before he can think better of it. Why is he admitting this to one of the very people he was so afraid might have hurt Naminé a minute ago? “Kaze has me do exercises and stuff, but the thought of anything happening to her..”

“I get it.” Riku says quietly, and something in his tone implies he really does. He doesn't ask about Kaze, though something in his expression shifts at the name, too quick for Haru to analyze. He knows the tone of voice though, wistful and sad in a way Haru knows happens only when Riku thinks of old mistakes and specific people.

It reminds Haru that Sora is dead here. Or might be. That Riku is still waiting, hoping for him and Kairi to come home.

“Can I ask you something?” Riku says suddenly, and Haru blinks in surprise before nodding. “They said.. They said a lot of stuff was the same, but.. In the Keyblade Graveyard..”

He pauses, clearly searching for the right words. Haru waits, something much easier now that he’s no longer driven by anxiety, well practiced from Naminé’s long silences.

“What made you choose to stay?”

Haru tilts his head. That wasn’t really what he was expecting to be asked.

“Why? Is it easier asking me than your own?”

He sees one fist clench by Riku’s side. Curious.

“No. Because ours didn’t take the body.”

Oh.

_ Oh. _

The Others weren’t mistaking him for  _ their _ Riku, they were mistaking him for  _ his _ .

Haru breaks eye contact, not wanting to look at what that revelation made him feel.

“You don’t have to answer, I just.. I don’t know. I want to know what I could have done.”

“I almost didn’t take it either.” Haru says, and he sees Riku’s eyes snap towards him as he does. He shrugs. “Sometimes it isn’t a matter of did or didn’t do. Sometimes it’s just a slight difference in tone, or the wind blowing the right way. Don’t blame yourself for his decisions. I wouldn’t.”

“Both you and your Naminé are whole, alive. I can’t help but feel like we couldn’t have made it work. That his sacrifice was for nothing.”

“It’s not.” Haru snorts. “I’m glad I’m here, that I get to be with her… But even if I wasn’t, I wouldn’t regret it. If I’d given up that body like I’d originally planned I wouldn’t have regretted it for a second. I guarantee you neither does he.”

Riku looks at him with a level stare that’s far too unreadable. He knew his Riku could be unflappable too, but this one.. This one was missing the biggest pieces of his life right now, with no clear way to get them back. No way of knowing if they were coming back at all. Haru suddenly realises just where Riku’s mind has gone… to Sora’s journey to save Kairi, one that has every likelihood of killing him.

He doesn’t get the chance to ask, or clarify though, because Riku turns and walks away.

“Thank you.” He says as he goes. “I need to find Aqua, I’m here to help her with some things.”

“Sure.” Haru mutters as Riku leaves. He doesn’t know if Riku heard him, but he supposes it doesn’t matter.

With nothing now between him and his goal, he walks outside and downstairs, sitting heavily next to Naminé. He leans his head on her shoulder and she reaches up to pet his hair softly.

“I’m tired.” He says. Between the anxiety and the conversation with Riku he’s emotionally wrung out. “Can we go home?”

“Stars, please.” Vanitas espouses from Naminé’s other side. “I’m so sick of this place.”

“Soon.” Naminé promises, making them both feel a little better despite knowing she has no real control over that. “Soon.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> literally wrote this because i wanted to address the whole. replica thing wrt canon and how riku probably feels about that (amongst other things). hilariously, Haru never actually gave him his name (anxiety's a bitch when it comes to thinking straight), so poor Riku probably ends up having to awkwardly ask someone what he's supposed to call him.
> 
> (for clarity, riku was probably told there was a replica running around, he just wasn't expecting to run into him, but haru definitely *didn't* know that canon!repliku didnt make it)
> 
> ill try to remember to post the next chapter before Re:Mind drops (especially since it features Axel) since we all know everyone including us are going to be far too busy playing video games after that for fanfic right away


	13. Apologies Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> last and maybe a little least (but we love him anyway), Axel

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is another one that was originally two chapters, but they were so pathetically short i decided to smush them together. that they ended up actually working somewhat well together was mostly by accident lol

Lea is well aware he’s being stalked.

He’s not going to do anything about it, because he knows exactly who it is, but he’s still fully aware of their presence when he kisses Isa goodbye and moves out of the common area and into one of the lesser used side hallways for some privacy.

“You know spying is rude, right?” He calls out. “I know the organization didn’t put much stock in politeness, but I like to think I would have taught you better once we were out.”

A tiny head of black hair pokes out from beyond a corner, and Xion looks up at him, curiosity and trepidation at war on oh so young features. A moment later Roxas follows.

“Sorry.” Is all he gets in reply. He cocks his head in question.

“If you’ve got questions you can just ask.”

“I actually wanted to talk to- to the other me? But she doesn’t seem very okay and I don’t want to intrude…”

“ _ They _ ,” Lea stresses the word, “aren’t feeling very good, no. But you can still ask, as long as you’re polite and don’t attack anyone again, I’m sure they’d be happy to talk.”

Roxas and Xion both wince at the casual recrimination.

“We said sorry.” Roxas mutters. Lea nods.

“Which is a good start, but you gotta follow that up with respect and doing what you said, or it doesn’t mean anything. It takes time to make things right after something like that.” Lea says. He’s all too aware of his own hypocrisy, how circumstances had allowed him to skim by the way he’d hurt his own versions of these very kids. He’d spent years trying to make up for it anyway, for all they had apparently forgiven him.

Roxas and Xion share a look.

“We’ll ask her later, when she’s feeling better.” Roxas says. Lea coughs.

“They haven’t had a lot of good days here.” He says. “You could just tell them that you want to talk, and let them come to you when they can.” There was a gummi ship in the hangar, and he could probably swing an off-world trip with their guardians if he had to (albiet probably with supervision).

“You keep-” Xion’s head tips in curiosity. “‘They’?”

Lea sighs internally.

“Yeah, ‘they’. Our Xion is non-binary and uses neutral pronouns.”

“What’s non-binary?” Roxas asks and Xion nods. 

Lea rubs the back of his head.

“It’s.. when you’re not a man or a woman, typically. It can be kind of complicated and I’ll admit I don’t know all the in’s and out’s of it all, but that’s the short version.”

“Was she- were they always like that?” Xion asks. Lea sighs.

“I don’t know, you’d have to ask them.” This was so far outside his wheelhouse. “They only switched to neutral pronouns a couple years ago though, if that’s what you’re asking.”

“Before that she was a she?” Roxas asked. Lea sighs again. Save him from well-meaning but misguided children.

“They used she before that, yes.” Lea rephrases for him. “They’ve said they don’t necessarily mind 'she', but it makes them much happier when we use 'they', so that’s what we do. Comet is different, you use ‘she’ for them and they’ll probably…. Well they’ll probably sit you down for lessons, honestly.”

Roxas makes a face, but Xion just giggles.

“Okay. Thank you for telling us.” Xion says before tugging Roxas away. “Could you tell other me to come find us when sh- when they can?”

“Sure.” Lea nods, and then watches them disappear around a corner. He sighs. 

“Don’t adopt them, we can’t take these ones home with us.” Isa appears at his side, soft smirk on his features. Lea pouts. 

“I wasn’t gonna.” He says. “They already have a Lea anyway.”

“Mh hmm.” Isa hums and turns away, still smirking. Lea huffs and trots after him. 

“Comet would let me keep them.”

“Which is why I’m here, clearly, since neither of you can control yourselves around lost puppies.”

“You count as one you know.”

Isa chuckles. 

“I am well aware.” He says with a smile. “It’s one of the reasons I love you after all.”

-

Axel is well aware Roxas and Xion are making trips to the Land of Departure to see their counterparts. 

He wasn’t stupid. He’d avoided the place after the first tumultuous few days, once it had been made clear that if the strangers were planning something they were either very bad at it, or very very good. 

He was leaning towards bad at it. 

But Roxas and Xion both had picked up on his unease with these multiversal guests, and always danced around it whenever he asked them where they were going. Once or twice they’d even outright lied to him.

Axel wasn’t dumb, and he had a lot of practice spotting liars. 

Still, he didn’t call them out on it and he didn’t tell them to stop. He’d done enough, and though he was loathe to admit it, he was still learning too. Being a family was hard, and all of them were making it up as they went. 

So when he paused at the door, he wasn’t explicitly trying to eavesdrop.. but sometimes old habits died hard. 

“Do you think I could do my hair like theirs?” He hears Xion ask. There’s a rustle as someone shifts. 

“You’d have to grow it out first.” Roxas answers. “Why though, I thought you didn’t want to mimic people anymore.”

“It looks cool! And is it mimicking if it’s actually a version of myself?”

“... I dunno.”

“Me either. And I don’t think I’d do it exactly the same, but kinda similar, you know?”

“Yeah.”

“Do you think they like ice cream too? We could bring some. Maybe they’ll feel better!”

“Yeah! And those pastry things Axel made us last week, those were really good.”

There’s a brief pause, and Axel moves to open the door when he’s stopped again by Roxas voice. 

“Do think- nah never mind.”

“What is it Roxas.”

“No it’s stupid.”

“Cmon, tell me!”

Axel turns away, deciding he’ll come back later, belatedly realizing he probably shouldn’t be so blatantly listening in. 

“Well, I just kinda noticed a lot of them rubbing at their scars. I think they ache. But then it had me wondering, a lot of them have scars we don’t, even though we did mostly the same things.”

“Huh.” Xion replies. “Now that you mention it, it’s kinda odd. The you and me don’t have any extra scars, but Sora, Riku, and Lea all do.”

“And Vanitas.”

“Oh yeah.. although, all I ever saw of him in our universe was his face so I’m not really sure about that.”

“I guess that’s true.”

Axel turns, finally forcing himself to move on, something like guilt worming through his chest and something like an idea percolating in his mind. 

He flops onto the couch with a sigh next to Isa. Isa flips to the next page of his book without even looking up. Axel fidgets uncomfortably.

“What is it?” Isa asks after Axel’s third sigh, still focused on his book. 

“I think I might’ve fucked up.”

“That much is without question.” Isa finally sits up, closing his book. “What is it this time?”

Lea scowls and elbows Isa, but it’s without heat, and Isa’s teasing grin is worth it anyway. 

“Har har. But seriously. How do normal people apologize, anyway? We’ve never exactly been…”

“Normal?” Isa intuits. Lea shrugs with a grin. “No. I believe most people start with the obvious; state their apology and intent to not repeat the behaviour. Perhaps a gift.”

“Hm.”

The two lounge on the couch comfortably. Lea can just barely hear the muffled noises of Roxas and Xion talking upstairs. 

“Is this about the travelers in residence of the Land of Departure?” Isa asks. Lea rubs the back of his head awkwardly. 

“That obvious?”

Isa raises an eyebrow and doesn’t answer otherwise. 

“Alright fine, yes it’s about them.”

“In that case I think an apology is a good idea.” Isa says frankly, flipping open his book nonchalantly. Lea pouts. 

“Any other nuggets of wisdom you wanna impart to me?” He snarks. "How do you know it'll even work?"

“I don't, but if I can shred my dignity when it is justified, so can you.” Isa answers frankly and without inflection, which tells Lea exactly how uncomfortable he is. It hadn't been that long ago that Isa had made his own apologies.. some of which had gone better than others.

“Right.” Lea feels bad now. He should know better. “Sorry.”

Isa puts a hand on top of Lea’s head, and Lea looks up to see Isa smile. 

“See, you’re already getting the hang of it.”

Lea laughs. It feels good. 

“Actually.. Hey Isa, could I ask a favour?”

-

Axel makes it all the way to the front steps of the Land of Departure before indecision grips him. 

He had it all planned out in his head.. except for how he was actually going to confront the kid. Did he walk right in and ask? That sounded like something teenage Lea might have done. Did he sneak his way in and leave his gift and a note so the kid didn’t have to deal with him? That sounded like something Axel in the organization might have done. The Axel of now was neither of those people, not really, and he finds himself at a crossroads. 

“Roxas and Xion aren’t here today.”

He turns and finds one of the strangers- the actually strange one that had nearly taken his head off that one time- looking at him expectantly. The other Isa stands behind them, one eyebrow raised. Axel fidgets nervously. 

The temptation to just leave the gift with them is  _ far _ too real. 

But he holds the little package in his hand and doesn’t move. 

“I know.” He answers. “I’m actually here for something else.”

“Colour us surprised then.” The other Isa speaks, tone flat in a way Axel has always recognized from him as distrust. “After your inglorious beginning with us and departure I did not expect to see you back.”

“Look, I get it, I fucked up. That’s.. kinda why I’m here.”

The stranger- fuck what had their name been? Meteor or something, squints at him like they’re looking for the trick. 

Fair enough he supposes. 

“Just what were you planning to do?” Isa asks, and Axel tenses. His eyes flick to the scars running along both their bodies. The edges of Isa’s are red like he’s rubbed at it one too many times today, and the other one- Star?- flexes their hands like their knuckles are stiff. He hadn’t really stuck around long enough to notice before. It’s more obvious now that he’s looking for it. 

“Apologize, do the gift thing. That’s how it works, right?”

“If it’s sincere, yes.” Isa nods. 

“And if the other person wants it.” Comet, that was their name! They cross their arms, staring him down. 

“I’ll keep that in mind.” He answers neutrally, picking up that hint loud and clear. 

Isa and Comet move off, entering the castle, though Comet gives him a stink-eye the whole way. Axel stays where he is, still no closer to forming a plan then he was before. 

“Ah, fuck it.” He mutters to himself, and goes inside. 

-

When he gets home only an hour later, he feels like he’s been going all day. 

He slumps onto the couch with a sigh, eyelids slipping closed with finality. The place is empty, and the silence feels eerie, much like the silent stares of the group that crowded around Vanitas as he’d entered their space. 

He hears the front door open but doesn’t move from his seat or open his eyes. He can tell it’s Isa by the sound of his steps and the rustle of his jacket. There’s a thunk as bags are set down, and more rustling as he listens to Isa put things away. 

He should probably go help, but before he can think to act on that thought he feels the couch dip next to him, and he blinks eyes open to see Isa looking at him curiously. 

“How did it go?” He asks. Right to the heart of it, as Isa is wont. 

“Better than I’d hoped.” Axel replies with a shrug. He’d half expected to be shunned out entirely, so even being allowed to see the kid was somewhat unexpected. 

“But?” Isa can see the follow up for what it was. 

“I didn’t get mauled by a bunch of angry werewolves. We’re gonna call it a win. Apparently everyone else beat me to apologizing and showed me up on how it’s done.”

Isa chuckles.

“You _did_ wait.”

“Yeah yeah I know.” Axel pauses. “They seemed to appreciate the gift though. I guess this multiverse stuff really is fucking with them. How fast do you usually go through that stuff for your scars?”

“Not that fast,” Isa answers. “But my scars are old and do not irritate me much anymore. From what I have gathered there are many more of them in need of much more frequent relief.”

“Right.” Axel sighs. “Guess I know where all my spare munny is going for a while…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is probably one of the more recently written of the chapters, mostly because i could not for the life of me figure out how axel apologizing would actually go. in the end i decided to just Skip It and write all the stuff around it instead. its still not one of my favourite chapters as a result, buuuuut it's better than nothing lol
> 
> anyways this is the part where we go dark until we've finished re:mind. see ya'll on the other side :D


	14. Skeet Shootin'

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Comet attempts to figure out the bullshit that's this world's wild magic. Boulders are exploded.

The magic is  _ really weird  _ here. It fits over your skin like an itchy woolen sweater. Covered in sand.

You hate it.

Any attempt at magic, even a small spark, goes absolutely wild. An undoubtedly fatal hazard if it was anybody but you. You’re also lucky that your family is  _ very  _ good at dodging. You’re just glad Myde is helping with evidence removal. Nobody has to know about the multitude of scorch marks that once littered the foyer of the castle.

But having to limit yourself from your greatest strength is making you  _ very twitchy.  _ Sure, your pack is more than capable of defending themselves and each other, but that doesn’t stop your anxiety from chewing on your nerves day and night. So, with the help of your Terra, you quietly make a plan to test your magic. 

You wait until the castle is mostly deserted of the Others before tromping out to a meadow out in the surrounding forests.

“I think this is far enough from any well-meaning intervention,” you muse, shading your eyes and squinting up at the castle in the distance.

“We’re only exploding a few rocks,” Terra laughs, summoning a pile of boulders from his inventory. “That’s not conspicuous or life-threatening at all.”

“Totally safe,” Aqua drawls from behind the barrier she had erected around herself and the rest of the pack, who obviously came to spectate and heckle. Judging by the smell, Lea is popping some popcorn bags.

“Alright,” you breathe, shaking out your arms and hopping in place to warm up. Small crackles of electricity arc off of your body, scars lighting up as you channel the  _ itchystrangeunfamiliar  _ magic in the atmosphere. You bring your dominant hand up, two fingers extended. “Pull!”

Terra heaves up a boulder with a grunt, and you let the charging energy loose with a-

_ krrkBANG! _

The world goes white, a force knocks you back, and you go ass over teakettle into the safety barrier around the testing meadow. Bless Aqua for cushioning her shields.

“You okay??” Terra asks, jogging over and helping you stand up.

“I feel like I tried to high five Thor,” you grumble, shaking out your slightly smoking hand. “But other than that I’m fine. Fucking itchyass magic.”

“Tellll me about it,” Myde burbles mournfully from his scarf shape around your shoulders. “It’s like having ants crawling all over me! Outside  _ and  _ inside!”

“Pretty on the dot there, yeah,” you agree, getting back to position. “Except for the inside part. That sounds like a you problem.”

“Mrrreurgh.”

You huff a laugh and take a firmer stance, pointing your fingers at the ground like a loaded gun. Terra leans against the next boulder patiently, ready for your signal. You take your time building the energy, carefully feeling out the wild magic you draw into yourself. It’s like teasing out really thick wool from a particularly snarled clump. Normally, it’s like grabbing a clearly defined thread and pulling, but now you have to untangle the whole damn system.

“Comet,” Myde warns.

“Pull!” You bark, whipping your hand up. A boulder goes flying and is promptly obliterated by a bolt. The kickback isn’t as bad this time, but your arm does fly back, and another bolt strikes a nearby tree. Myde helpfully blasts it with a water spell before it combusts.

Somebody slow claps over at the pack pile.

“Do you do parties?” Vanitas calls out.

“I charge by the hour!” You snark back, causing a smattering of giggles.

“That looked a little better,” Terra points out. 

“I think I’m getting there,” you confirm, “I just have to be careful because I’m charging as I’m untangling this puzzle.”

“Would talking help?”

“Probably. Do you mind?”

“ ‘S what I’m here for.”

“You’re the best,” you tell him, heart warm. “Okay so like… magic at home feels a bit like… redirecting? Channeling? Weaving?”

“How so?”

“Lemme work backwards. The magic here is like being handed a mass of wool and trying to make thread out of it with your bare hands.”

Terra hisses sympathetically. You remember when Aqua had experimented with making her own thread by hand instead of a few helpful spells. It had not ended well.

“Exactly,” you huff. “Impossible and frustrating. At home it’s like…” You snap your fingers a few times, the word you’re looking for just out of reach.

“Spindle,” Myde pipes up.

“Thanks, buddy. Yeah, like I’m the spindle. Taking and refining from an already clean and prepped mass and directing the fibers into usable thread.”

“How do you do that?”

“Usually I gather it at my hands-”

“Didn’t you get to that point through practice?”

“Oh, that’s true,” you hum, bringing a hand up to rub at your scar in thought. “Dang, it’s been so long since then.”

“I mean, you  _ did  _ get struck by lightning,” Terra points out with a smirk.

“I think Isa and Lea would kill us both if I went out and let myself get smote.”

“Not what I meant,” Terra scolds, raising an unimpressed eyebrow. “How did you start channeling in the  _ beginning. _ ”

Huh. Now there’s a thought.

“So… you’re saying I need to start from the ground up.”

_ “Now  _ they get it,” Myde snickers, rippling slightly.

“It’s been a stressful time,” Terra defends. “They just need a little help getting there.”

“That’s true,” you sigh. “Thanks, Terra.”

Terra beams at you, a pleased blush dusting his nose. You briefly think that he’ll be great teaching apprentices someday. You jog back to your starting point and sit cross-legged on the dirt. Unfortunately, you will have to meditate in order to get a proper feel for the magic. Years ago, Merlin had dragged a promise out of you that you would  _ never  _ reach for a magic you didn’t know, and graphically outlined the sometimes gorey details of the consequences.

You even out your breathing, closing your eyes. Myde hums lowly, undulating slightly to the rhythm of far off waves. You reach out for the magic - not gathering, just feeling. It buzzes against your senses, prickling almost angrily against your heart. Less like the electrotherapy for stiff muscles and more like a hand-buzzer for pranks, but lethal. You let yourself sink into the magic, letting it surround and fill you. It’s like adjusting to a hot tub - just lowering yourself increments at a time.

You hold your hands out in front of you, slightly apart with palms facing each other. You focus, gently pinching off the merest fraction of energy.

_ Skrzznap! _

_ _ You open your eyes and repeat the action.

A tiny, controlled bolt snaps between your palms. You perk up, feeling Myde tense around your shoulders, vibrating. 

_ Fzzzt! _

_ Spvzzzt! _

_ Krakzzt! _

_ _ “Yes!” You shout, leaping to your feet.

_ “Eeeeee!”  _ Myde shrieks quietly.

“Okay, I think I’ve figured it out!” You call to Terra, slowly drawing energy through your body and into your hand. “Ready?”

“As ever!” He shouts back.

“Pull!”

Terra tosses a boulder and you take aim. The bolt leaps from your finger to the rock in a beautiful, jagged line of pure energy.

_ KR-KRZZKT! _

The boulder shatters cleanly, smoking shards flying in all directions. Terra calmly deflects fragments with his keyblade. Myde bats away chunks away from you with a flurry of shadowy tendrils.

“YEAH!!” You whoop, leaping excitedly into the air. “DID YOU SEE THAT?!”

“That was great!!” Terra yells back with a grin. 

“Do another one!” Haru requests. You and Terra bare teeth at each other in savage grins. You take your usual stance, hands loose and raised to chest height.

“Launch at will!” You call out, lightning crackling in your palms. Terra gleefully obliges, and you focus on annihilating rocks as flashily and unnecessarily as possible. You go through the entire pile, arms starting to ache from the strain of it all, when Terra calls out “Last one!” and launches the biggest boulder yet.

Time for the show stopper.

You gather your lightning, swirling your arms up and back behind you and, with a step forward and a shout, shove both hands forwards in a double palm strike.

The resulting noise is deafening, the light blinding, but  _ stars above  _ the release is almost  _ orgasmic _ . 

The bolt - one with “smiting power” - breaks the boulder into pieces and, with a sharp gesture, branches apart to break the smaller chunks, again and again and again until there’s nothing but ash drifting down.

“Phew!” You rasp, collapsing to your knees. “That was a workout!”

“REN HOLY SHIT!” Vanitas yells. “WHEN DO I GET TO LEARN THAT.”

“MAYBE WHEN WE GET HOME!” You holler back, flopping on your side. Myde sympathetically pats your cheek.

You are going to be  _ so sore  _ tomorrow. But it’s worth it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know when you try so hard to get your writing juices flowing you forget that you have chapters waiting in storage? That's me (Orion) right now. Help.


	15. Midnight soup

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vanitas can't sleep. Time to turn to an old tradition.

Vanitas is awake.

It’s the asscrack of dark and he’s been awake the entire goddamn time. 

Sora smacks his lips and snuffles, mashing his face against Vanitas’ neck. Kairi has Vanitas’ arm hostage, and his legs are held down by Ventus. He’s comfortable, cuddled, and safe, but sleep still eludes him. Probably because he’s in a hellish parallel dimension, and tension has only  _ just recently  _ calmed down. 

Cool darkness wraps around his bicep.

“The halls are clear,” Myde burbles. “Midnight soup?”

“Hell yeah,” Vanitas grunts, carefully extracting himself from the sib pile.

Terra, shifted for the night, lifts his great head.

“Soup?” He rumbles.

“Hell yeah!” Myde whisper-yells.

“I’ve got some garlic-herb bread from earlier.”

“You’re a saint,” Vanitas whispers, opening the door for Terra to lumber through.

“Saint Bearra,” Myde hums, wisping off of Vanitas to float in the air like ink in water. “Patron saint of bread and naps.”

“I can get behind that,” Terra giggles.

Vanitas sticks close to Terra’s bulk, reaching out to bury a hand into Terra’s thick pelt. Myde swoops down from the ceiling to settle over Terra like a blanket, tendrils reaching down to wrap around Vanitas’ wrist. The hallways are dark and quiet. Usually Vanitas would like it, but since this is Hell World he’s not very fond of it. Terra rumbles, pausing to give Vanitas a good lick.

“Awwgh  _ why _ ,” Vanitas gripes.

“You’re  _ radiating  _ grumpy,” Terra huffs. “And that’s okay, but it’s soup time.”

“Soup tiiiiiime,” Myde sings.

“Fiiine, I’ll tone down the grump.”

They turn a corner.

Ventus is awake.

He stares at the ceiling, blankets pulled up to his chin. He can’t sleep. He’s been tossing and turning for  _ hours.  _ He’s too hot, then he’s too cold, the blankets are too much, the pillows aren’t enough - it’s been like this  _ all night.  _ It’s been a recurring problem since he woke up on that chair. Being asleep for like a  _ decade  _ apparently does things to sleep cycles.

Ventus huffs and kicks his blankets off, sitting up to glower at the wall. He’s cranky, exhausted, and kinda hungry. And he doesn’t have any snacks with him.

Kitchen time.

Ventus crawls out of bed and pads out of his room, scrubbing his face. He makes extra effort to stay quiet past Aqua’s room. She’s a light sleeper and he doesn’t feel like answering questions right now.

The halls are dark and quiet, soft moonlight streaming through the windows. Ventus shuffles through. What should he get? Hot chocolate sounds good. Maybe there’s some leftover butter cookies from lunch?

Ventus turns a corner -

And comes face to face with the biggest fucking monster he’s ever seen in his life. Eyes glint yellow, huge and shaggy, more eyes on its back with wispy tendrils. Long fangs flash, gleaming white and drooling.

Ventus screams-!

“SHHHH!” Vanitas shushes, emerging from the shadows around the beast to clamp a hand over Ventus’ mouth.

“MMMMMPH?!” Ventus flaps his hands at Vanitas. The older boy rolls his eyes and releases him.

“That’s  _ Terra _ , dingus,” Vanitas whispers. The shadow shuffles forward, revealing a  _ bigass bear.  _

“I am so,  _ so sorry,”  _ the bear speaks, giving Ventus a familiar sad look. Ventus registers the familiar bangs drooping over brown eyes.

Ventus makes a very confused sound.

“I don’t think Shiny has seen Bearra yet,” the writhing shadows croon. The darkness parts to reveal Myde.

“Uh uh,” Ventus confirms, eyes wide.

_ He’s huge!!!  _

“What’re you doing up?” Vanitas asks, amber eyes assessing. “You okay?”

“Couldn’t sleep,” Ventus confesses, avoiding eye contact with the older boy. “Was gonna go get something from the kitchen.”

“That’s where we’re going, too.” Terra rumbles. 

“Midnight soouuuuup~!” Myde says, wiggling in excitement.

“What?” Ventus asks, even more confused.

“C’mon,” Vanitas says, clapping Ventus on the shoulder to guide him forward. “We’re gonna make soup.”

“So,” Vanitas starts, chopping up some onions while Terra roots around for a decent pot, “midnight soup.”

“Yeah, what is that?” Ventus asks. He’s sitting on a stool on the other side of the kitchen island, watching Vanitas.

“I have  _ horrible fucking insomnia  _ some nights,” Vanitas says. “I’m prescribed some sleeping pills, but I don’t like relying on them and I didn’t bring them with me. Usually I’ll do something quiet, but most of the time I’m so fucking hungry I could eat a horse.”

“You  _ have  _ eaten a horse,” Myde pipes up from his hiding place in the spice cabinet. Terra slams the door on him.

“Irrelevant,” Vanitas sniffs, tossing the onion chunks into a small bowl. “So usually I’ll make soup, because it’s easy to make. And believe it or not, a lot of us have some form of insomnia or nighttime zoomies that make it hard to sleep. Sora caught wind of it, and it became a thing with the Insomnia Club. Midnight soup.”

“Huh,” Ventus hums. “So… what kind of soup is it?”

“Whatever I feel like, to be honest,” Vanitas answers. 

“Hey!” Terra pipes up from the pantry. “There’s noodles!”

“What kind?” Vanitas asks.

“Egg noodles.”

“Hmmm,” Vanitas hums. “I feel like something creamy and beefy. Thoughts?”

“Mushrooooms,” Myde groans. “Pleeeaaase.”

“So, stroganoff?” Terra guesses.

“That’s not a soup???” Ventus looks so confused. That’s  _ adorable.  _

“Doesn’t have to be,” Vanitas hums. “It just has to be easy to make. Also,  _ anything  _ can be made into a soup if you add enough liquid.”

“That sounds highly dubious and easily exploitable!” Myde chirps.

“You would know,” Terra teases, setting down cans of cream of mushroom down on the counter. “Go check if we have the right kind of beef.”

A slab of packaged sirloin appears on the counter, making Ventus jump.

“That doesn’t count.”

“Can… can I help?” Ventus tentatively asks.

After an hour of chopping, stirring, and simmering, the stroganoff is done. The smells of rich cream and beef make Vanitas drool. Ventus eagerly peers into the pot.

“Well? Is it done?” Terra asks. Ventus looks to Vanitas, who only raises an eyebrow. 

“Go ahead,” he tells Ventus.

Ventus hesitantly takes the stirring spoon and tastes the sauce.

“Tastes good to me?” He says.

“Soups on!” Myde chirps, plopping some bowls by the stove.

“Bitch, that’s a mixing bowl,” Vanitas laughs.

“Don’t judge me!” Terra huffs. “I’m  _ starving.”  _

They take their bowls, Terra plopping down on the floor to relax with his own. Vanitas leans against him, bowl in his lap. Myde is slurping his noodles somewhere in the ceiling. Ventus clutches his bowl nervously.

“Dude, just sit,” Vanitas huffs, patting the floor next to him. “We don’t bite.”

Ventus sits down. Vanitas tucks into his food, giving Ventus the chance to reorient himself. Ventus takes a bite of his own food. Vanitas smirks at the pleased and surprised hum.

Myde takes care of cleanup, swooshing the bowls and pots clean and putting away the leftovers. Terra rumbles contentedly and sprawls on his side. Vanitas hums and stretches, luxuriating in the feeling of  _ warmfullsafe _ . Ventus yawns widely next to him, baby face scrunching up from the force of it.

“Sleepy time,” Myde hums, coiling up like an infinity scarf on top of Terra. “Night night.”

“Night,” Vanitas mumbles, turning over to bury his face into Terra’s fur. Ventus makes a confused sleepy noise and acts as if to get up.

“Nope,” Terra grunts, gently pinning the boy in place with a heavy paw. “Sleep time.”

Ventus makes a token noise of protest but settles down, lulled by the warmth of the food in his belly and the heavy arm around him. Myde starts crooning something, some nameless melody.

That wasn’t so bad, Ventus realizes. Midnight soup is pretty great.

He falls asleep, and doesn’t dream for the first time in ages.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -Orion sprawls out on the floor- sorry y'all life has gotten so crazy. With senior capstone, the pandemic, and the pandemic affecting my senior capstone, I kept forgetting to post this chapter! But it's here now! Enjoy the cute, wash your hands, and stay safe!


	16. Differences

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sora misses his mom, and makes a dubiously bad decision.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> stay safe wash your hands dont be sora and stay inside

Sora doesn’t know what drew him to do it.

Maybe it was being holed up in the castle with the same people day in and day out too long. Maybe it was the residual weirdness of the whole situation getting to him. Maybe it was just the natural wanderlust his mother always despaired of him for.

Giving the others the slip wasn’t easy, especially with most of them clinging together like the pack they were in this strange new universe. Lea keeps gathering up the kids into piles like some kind of nervous habit, and Terra isn’t much better. Comet, Isa and Aqua are often on that list as well, and put up with it with more good grace than they strictly need to. Haru gets quite vocal about how often he’s being picked up and toted around by the back of his shirt more than once.

Riku and Kairi meet him by the ship, flustered and grinning with the adrenaline of their escape.

This is dangerous, and foolish. He  _ knows. _ Both Sora and Kairi are functionally dead in this universe, and their were forms aren’t exactly the norm on most of these worlds apparently, but that doesn’t matter right now. They’ll be careful, they tell themselves, they’ll stay away from major cities, stay under cover of night. They just need to get  _ away _ .

All three already know that they’re going to be in boatloads of trouble when they get back, but right now the risk is worth it.

So they steal a ship, and fly away deep in the night.

It’s  _ exciting _ .

They make a few stops, but at one point Sora finds his fingers skimming the gummi map, always returning to one place in particular.

“I.. I want to see my mom.” He says. Both Riku and Kairi look up.

“Sora..” Riku cautions, and Sora shakes his head.

“I’m not dumb, I know I can’t like.  _ See _ see her, but just at a distance, yeah?” He says. “I miss her.”

Kairi gives him a soft smile, the one that makes him feel both sad and loved at the same time.

“Sure, I think that should be okay, right Riku?”

Riku bites his lip, clearly on the fence, but it only takes one more look at Sora before he caves.

“Yeah okay. Just a look.” 

The trip to Radiant Garden is uneventful, and even feels a little faster than back home. Flying the gummi ship feels weird, but ironically that’s the most normal normal thing about this universe so far. The gummi space changes so frequently that it  _ always _ feels weird.

They land and disembark, giggling uproariously as they go about their attempts at subversion. They detour through the garden paths, frolicking like children; or at least, Sora and Kairi do. Riku stubbornly walks along the path for a solid ten minutes before the other two finally manage to pull him away and into the tall bushes lining one side.

They emerge another twenty minutes later, flushed and disheveled but satisfied, and Riku tugging up his collar to hide a pair of quickly forming hickeys.

They make the rest of the way to the edges of the Town talking quietly. Their feet take the steps nearly by memory, down the stone steps and into the narrow side street that hides Kaze’s home from the rest of the town.

So caught up in their furtive whispers it takes them a moment to realize nothing’s there.

“Oh.” Riku says. “I guess she never came here in this universe.”

Sora bites his lip. He wonders what happened to Naminé and Haru here, without his mother to take them in. 

Questions for later. 

“She’s probably still on the Islands.” Kairi says. “We’ll have to be a little more careful landing the ship so no one notices, but we can still go.”

“Yeah.” Sora nods. Despite that, his feet drag a little back to the ship, something uneasy settling in his gut. Riku and Kairi notice, because of course they do, and do their best to keep up an easy flow of conversation. He tries his best to engage, but he’s still distracted.

The trip to the islands is longer, and all three are starting to feel the effects of the early hour, but they land without incident. The eastern horizon is just beginning to brighten with pink pre dawn light.

They wander around the outskirts of the small island town, avoiding the areas they know the dawn risers are beginning to stir (or would be, back in their own universe). 

Riku wordlessly points out the large tree that always sat near Sora’s home, and the other two silently agree. He gives Sora and Kairi a hand up, and taking their hands to boost himself up after them.

They settle in the top branches, Sora sandwiched between Riku and Kairi, and watch the first lights blink on in the dark house.

It’s comforting, at first, just watching the little signs of life in his childhood home, taking solace in the knowledge that here, back home, wherever, his mother is going about her day like any other.

At least, it is until a face passes by the window.

And it’s not Kaze.

Sora sits up abruptly, jostling Riku and Kairi, the latter of which had started to fall asleep on his shoulder.

“Who is that?” He demands. “That’s not my mom.”

“Sora-” Riku pauses.

“Maybe you grew up in a different house here?” Kairi says, rubbing at one eye. Sora shakes his head.

“No, look, there’s my name on that fence post- the one I scratched in when I was still learning to read. And my old bike still attached to the front there.”

“Maybe it’s a guest then, or she moved.” Riku tries to pacify him, but Sora can’t explain why he’s so agitated.

“I don’t recognize her. These islands are tiny, we should know everyone- what if-”

“Sora stop.” Riku says firmly. “This is not a Xehanort thing.” He adds, knowing Sora’s fears well and allaying them before they can fully take shape.

“But-”

“Sora.” Kairi says. “It’s okay. Maybe we should head back.”

“What if it is a break-in though? What if she got taken by surprise and needs help?” Sora looks at them both pleadingly. His mother was a capable person who could assuredly take care of herself in a fair fight, but all of them were well aware that even the most capable people could fall.

“I really don’t think that’s the case, but if it makes you feel better I’ll go up and knock, okay?”

Sora nods jerkily, and despite wanting Riku to do this for him, feels bereft when Riku slips out of his grasp and jumps out of the tree. He makes his way up the cobblestone walkway and at this angle they can just see him raise his hand to knock.

Sora can’t hear the conversation, but he can see Riku jerk back in surprise at one point before visibly forcing himself into calm neutrality. A moment later he walks into the house and the door shuts behind him.

“What’s going on, why did he go in? What’s happening?” Sora finds himself twitching erratically on the branch, trying to get a better view. The branch sways hard, and Kairi has to reach out desperately to keep from tumbling from her perch.

“Sora!” She reprimands, and Sora ducks his head apologetically.

“Sorry, Kai.” He says and she sighs.

“Come on, if we’re sneaky we can go up and get a better view from one of the windows.” She suggests, and Sora brightens with a plan of action.

They leap from the tree and duck behind the fence, tiptoeing towards the window that  _ should _ face the open dining room. Thankfully that much appears to be the same, as they peek in and see Riku taking a seat at the small table, and the mystery woman sets a cup of something that steams softly in the dim early morning light. Riku says something, and the woman tilts her head curiously, to which he looks embarrassed and tries to visibly backtrack.

“What are they saying?” Sora hisses, pressing his nose closer to the glass as though it will help him hear better. Kairi grunts as he pushes into her own peeking into window space.

“I dunno- Sora careful!” She yelps as he shifts again attempting to get a better view, and knocks over the planter that had been sitting on the windowsill.

It makes a tremendous crash as it falls, shattering across the cobblestones damningly.

“Uh oh.” Is all he can think to say as he stares down at the broken terra cotta.

“Sora…..?” The voice is soft and tremulous, and he looks up at the now open window, and the strange lady now standing at it. She brings her hands to her face, like she can’t quite believe what she’s seeing. “Sora is that really you?”

“I- uh-” He isn’t sure how to answer that, considering.

“And Kairi! You brought her home! Oh Sora! Stay right there!” She flees from the window, running for the door. Sora locks his gaze with Riku, who meets his with a wince. 

That’s fair, that’s about how Sora feels about this situation too.

The woman bursts outside and runs around the corner, dress fisted in one hand to keep it out of her way. She descends on him, running her hands through his hair and tears in her eyes as she babbles.

“It’s you, you’re okay- oh Sora I’m so glad you’re okay-” Her voice warbles, and suddenly she’s crying, tears dripping onto his lapel as she sniffles.

“My boy! My  _ boy! _ I thought I’d never see you again!”

My boy?

Sora jerks back, feeling bad at her confused and hurt look as he does, but not enough to continue this charade.

“I’m sorry- who  _ are _ you?”

Her stunned look makes him reconsider, but it’s too late now. She glances between him and Kairi uncertainly, drawing into herself anxiously.

“Sora.. It’s.. It’s me. It’s your mother.”

“You’re not my mother.” The words are out of his lips before he can stop to consider them. He feels Kairi wrap a fist in the back of his jacket and tug sharply, but the words already hang in the air, far too late to take them back.

Her lip wobbles.

“Ma’am..” Riku comes up from behind her, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. “I’m sorry, there’s been… a mixup.”

“I don’t understand.” She says, voice all but a whisper, barely audible.

“The explanation is.. A little crazy.” He admits. “The short version is that we’re from another universe, and we shouldn’t have come here. I’m sorry to have distressed you.”

“Another.. Universe?” She glances between the three, and Sora can almost feel her picking out whatever small details might set him apart from his counterpart here.

Sora feels like his mouth is glued shut. He doesn’t know what to say, a rare thing indeed.

“Sora..” Riku has something in his hands, which he looks at uncertainly for a moment before handing it to Sora.

It’s a picture frame.

Sora turns it over and finds three faces smiling back. One is his own, one is the mystery woman, and the last…

Is Kaze.

He looks up at the mystery woman.

“Where’s my mom? Where’s Kaze?”

The woman looks at him with wide eyes, looking more like he’d asked for her for her valuables at gunpoint than a question about his mother.

“Kaze died. Years ago.” Is all she can seem to say, the words breathless yet blunt.

Sora feels all the air leave him at once. He doesn’t realise he’s listing to one side until he feels Kairi reach out and steady him.

“She’s dead?” He looks down at the picture again. The woman nods.

“Is.. Is she not, where you’re from?”

Sora shakes his head fervently.

“No! She’s fine and happy and.. And…” Tears well in his eyes and he squeezes them shut, trying to calm himself.

“And I’m not.” The lady says softly, far too intuitive.

“I think we should go.” Riku says. Sora shakes his head.

“I don’t even know who you are.” He pauses, guilty. “I’m sorry.”

The lady plays with the hem of her dress, hunched and anxious. It reminds him of Naminé.

“Another universe..” She whispers. “Can I know, what happened to her? To Kaze? What might have happened if she hadn’t..?”

“Please, I don’t think this is a good idea-” Kairi says, but Sora resists her tugs on his sleeve.

“After my dad died she raised me on her own, after everything with the keyblade war she moved to Radiant Garden and adopted some kids. I guess she thought I moved out too soon.” He lets out a small, watery chuckle. “She’s helping with the reconstruction of the Garden. She’s.. Dating. Now.” His mouth twists in a scowl, which thankfully prompts a small laugh from the lady. A moment later she sobers, a question clearly on her tongue but she chews her lip uncertainly.

“When did your… father die?”

Sora shrugs.

“A long time ago. There was a storm. I don’t really remember him.” His mom had talked about him sometimes, but not often. The loss had hit her hard.

“I see.” Her hands fist in her dress again, fidgeting like she’s debating on saying something, but eventually decides against it. “... Thank you for telling me.”

“Sure.” Sora replies. Awkwardness hangs thick in the air for a long moment, and the first rays of sunlight breach across their faces.

“Do you.. Want to come in for breakfast?” She asks, hesitant.

The three glance around at each other, conversing silently.

“We’re already gonna be in so much trouble when we get back.” Kairi says. “We might as well go on a full stomach.”

Riku shrugs, deferring to Sora.

He looks back at the lady.

“I.. I’m not your son. I’m sorry.”

“I understand.” She says. “But even knowing some version of him is alive and well.. Helps. It gives me hope that maybe  _ my _ son will come home too someday. And.. Well I’ve been a little lonely, in this house. I’d be happy to do this.”

“Okay.” Sora nods, and the lady leads them inside.

-

The trip back to the Land of Departure is quiet, partly due to just how long they had been awake, partly due to the comfortable fullness of their bellies, and partly because.. Well.

Kairi slumbers comfortably in one of the side chairs, curled impossibly tightly in were form. Sora lounges in his own, nearly asleep but not quite, as Riku pilots.

“She had your eyes.” Riku says, an hour into their journey back. Sora blinks sleepily.

“Hm?” He asks, brain fuzzy and not quite processing what he’s suggesting.

“Nothing. Go to sleep, we’ll be there soon.” Riku deflects. Sora drops his head back into his paws, too tired to argue.

“Okay. ‘Night Riku. Love you.” 

“Goodnight Sora. I love you too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> for those who may have missed it, yes i implied that sora's other mom is a trans woman, and cometverse sora's dad might have been one as well, but was never given the chance to come out. our canon now we do what we want with it.
> 
> (i *really* regret that this falls into two seperate variations of the bury your gays trope, i really do. i didnt realise it until way later that's what we'd ended up doing. if it's any consolation, in the stand!au they are both alive and happy little lesbians together)


	17. The Search

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Back in cometverse, those left behind try to deal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey remember how we set up kaze and dilan and never really.... did... anything with that? our bad. we got distracted. slice of life stories get written according to whoever we have the most feelings about at any given time (which is usually vanitas or lea, lbr).
> 
> anyway, here's some dilan trying his very best to Not Be Xaldin.

If you had asked Xaldin where he’d be in 5 years, he certainly wouldn’t have said here.

In fact, he probably would have said something about how speculation of the future is a frivolous waste of time, and then dismissed you out of hand, pretending quite convincingly that the question wouldn’t keep him up at night.

But here he was.

Jumping between worlds like a worried mother hen in search of kids who, for the most part, he was very much aware could take care of themselves.

There were more than enough people to take care of the ones who couldn’t too; Myde, if inconsistent, would never let anything too drastic happen (he hopes), and Haru hardly let Naminé out of his sight, so surely they would be fine. Never mind Sora and his menagerie. Wherever the kids had all vanished off too, surely they would be fine.

The problem with having a heart, and this much Xaldin had been absolutely right about, was that you couldn’t stop it from caring.

That said, Dilan would never go back to that hollow existence. Ever.

He’d grown… attached. Xaldin had sworn himself off of connections, love, too wrapped up in his own heartbreak and bitterness to see the loss for what it was. Having his heart returned and meeting Kaze had made him realize just how pathetic and alone he had truly been. He wonders if the others had similar ruminations in the dark hours of night.

He knows Aeleus does. He doesn’t really talk to the others as much.

And when Kaze, the vibrant sunbeam of light she was, decided to take on Naminé and the Riku replica… well he’d be lying if he hadn’t been skeptical. It had almost become an argument at one point, him pointing out that she had no real idea what these children were capable of, what did she think she could do for them (against them)? There was nothing she could protect them from that they could not face themselves. Even the physically unimposing Naminé had all kinds of things up her metaphorical sleeves. Was she (were they?) ready for that?

Kaze had very nearly thrown him out of the house entirely.

“You think I don’t know every single one of those kids could overpower me in a heartbeat? My own son has abilities I never could have possibly dreamed of. That. is not. the POINT.” She had accentuated each break with a single finger jab to his ribs.

He’d been taken aback, and after a moments thought, realized he didn’t really know  _ what _ she was thinking, and asked her to explain it to him.

His days as Xaldin were behind him, but sometimes he had to catch himself to keep them from slipping back into the present. The effort to understand others, their cares and motivations, was difficult, but worth the effort. An effort he made every attempt to extend especially to Kaze.

The point, as she had proceeded to explain, had been a family. Love. Someone to take care of you even if you didn’t need taking care of. The more he spent time around Kaze.. the more he understood. He had never spent much time around children, even before the fall of the garden, and had really only been considering their physical needs.

As Kaze pointed out, there was much, much more to it than that.

So Naminé and Haru had entered Kaze’s home. Dilan was essentially living there as well, more often than not, but for a while he had felt like an intruder. He knew the stories of how both children had come to be, but he’d never really met either of them himself. It was awkward, for a while.

It had been Haru he’d bonded with first. He’d found the boy pacing the house restlessly, clearly stir crazy and with nothing to do. He’d asked what Haru’s plans for the day were, and the answer had been basically nothing.

“Naminé kicked me out of the room. She thinks I’m hovering. Or something.” The boy had grumped. Dilan huffed what might have been a laugh, if you knew him well.

“You need a hobby that isn’t watching over her 24/7.” Dilan had answered. Haru had run his hand through his hair.

“I- I draw with her sometimes…”

“Which you are still doing with  _ her. _ What do you like to do on your  _ own?” _

Haru had shrugged.

“I go for runs? Sometimes? I can’t do that all the time, though.”

Dilan had allowed that. This boy definitely needed a hobby, however, and for some reason Dilan thought about his own casual interests in old architecture and the classical arts. He’d devoured libraries worth of books on the subject, even after he’d lost his heart and the motion had seemed numb.

“What do you know of the arts, boy?”

“Like Naminé’s drawing?”

“Oh there is that, but there is far more to it as well. Come, I will show you.” And he’d carted Haru off, finding himself eager to show off an old passion of his.

Much of it had been hit or miss, but one thing in particular caught the boy’s eye, and it had been a single passage in one of the books Dilan had taken out. The book itself was rather dry, even for Dilan’s taste, but it had a detailed description of an old archway at the base of the Rising Falls. There had been an inscription on it, a poem placed there by it’s builders, likely to bless the arch’s construction for longevity.

He doesn’t think that arch is there anymore sadly, else he would have taken the boy to see it in person.

But the inscription had captured Haru’s eye, and Dilan saw him mouthing the words as he read them, head lilting from side to side unconsciously as he went.

Dilan had picked the book up, reading the inscription himself.

Haru had flushed, almost embarrassed to have been caught. Dilan had just smiled.

“You have quite the ear for poetry. It is almost lyrical, is it not?”

“I guess?” Haru had seemed confused. Dilan, following the thread now, heads for a new section of the library.

He plucked a book of collected poems, one he had read himself many a time, even if poetry was not his main focus, and handed it to Haru.

“See how you like these.” Dilan had said. “Poetry is a delightful art. If you find you enjoy it, you could even write your own.”

Haru had taken the book, clearly not at all convinced, but after that Dilan started to find several more poetry books scattered around the house, which pleased him greatly. Eventually he would start to find scattered bits of paper with half written poems on them as well.

He found himself… proud, to have helped the boy find something to enjoy as he does.

Naminé had thanked him, surprised him by hugging him tightly around the middle when she does.

“He really needed something of his own.” She had said. “I’m glad you helped him find it.”

He had patted the girls hair, all too conscious of her slight frame and the years of training (of hurting, of killing) his own build has.

She had smiled up at him, and then returned upstairs.

Something in his heart had melted then.

The house had been a lot less awkward after that.

It was still quiet, the only real talker of the group was Kaze, but she didn’t seem to mind being the sole starter of conversation. Dilan was always happy to engage with her, always happy to share in her light. Haru could usually keep up a conversation well enough, unless he was feeling grumpy. Naminé was quiet, as always, but never failed to give the impression that she was listening intently.

It was nice. They made it work.

So when the kids (and several of the adults) all vanished, he found himself with a new hole in himself that he didn’t much care for. When it didn’t feel empty, it filled itself with anxiety instead. He doesn’t miss not caring, but he does wish it was more manageable sometimes.

Kaze, infuriatingly, isn’t very bothered by the whole situation. He asks her why one night, as they lay in bed and she pushes her fingers through his braids in comfort.

“Weren’t you the one who tried to warn me of all the phenomenal cosmic powers those kids were capable of?” She teases. He frowns.

“The universe is full of all sorts of cosmic powers.” He would know. He’d been part of one and one point.

“They’ll be fine. And then they’ll come home with a whole new batch of stories, I’m sure.” She laughs. He loves her laugh, never toned down, always showing exactly what she was feeling. He doesn’t understand how she doesn’t worry, though.

“You are not concerned?”

Her laugh dims to a smile. It looks sad.

“Of course I am, but.. It’s not the first time I’ve had a child vanish into thin air, D. At least this time there’s good odds they’re all together. I have to believe that they’re fine and will come home soon.”

He loves Kaze, but he thinks she’s being absolutely foolish.

“Belief doesn’t change anything.”

“Doesn’t it?” She asks, before turning over to sleep, clearly indicating the conversation over. It’s by far the coldest night he’s had since he met her.

The next day he starts travelling the worlds, looking for any sign of the missing. Perhaps it’s a fruitless venture, and it means leaving his reconstruction responsibilities of the Garden in the hands of others, but his crew had understood. There were very few that hadn’t lost family in the fall, and all of them had spent time hunting for lost people at some point in their lives.

He turns world after world upside down.

It amounts to exactly nothing.

But there is one world he hasn’t touched, and in truth he doesn’t want to, but after all other options have been exhausted he takes a deep breath and directs the gummi ship there anyway. He draws on old organization knowledge, determined to stay in the shadows and not be seen under any circumstances.

Unfortunately, Beast’s Castle has changed significantly since he was last here, and staying in the shadows is a lot harder when you can’t literally sink into them anymore. The halls are brightly lit, the curtains pulled, and there seems to be far more people around then there used to.

He manages to not get caught immediately, though mostly through luck and some very quick thinking. Unfortunately it’s not long until he finds himself diving into a side room to avoid some servants, only to unexpectedly find himself with an armful of young woman instead.

“You!” Belle hisses, jerking away and taking up a candelabra from a nearby mantle to hold threateningly.

“Wait, wait-” He holds his hands up, in a paltry effort to stall her vengeance. Her face darkens further.

“I’m not going to fall for that again. ADAM-” She starts to shout, cut off only when Dilan lurches forward to cover her mouth. She grazes a near miss with her first swing of the candelabra, but catches him solidly in the face with her second. He stumbles back, stunned and seeing stars, and she jerks away from him once more, making to run.

“Wait, please-” He coughs, still not seeing straight. He fumbles blindly for the nearby wall. “I’m not here to hurt anyone-”

Her steps slow, and he’s once more astounded by her trusting nature.

“And why should I believe you?” She asks, tone distrustful and hard. Not so trusting as that, at least. He’d be proud if blinking didn’t hurt right now.

“I’m looking for my kids.” Perhaps it was the probable concussion, but the words slip from his lips with surprising ease. The air leaves him in a rush. He’s never claimed them as his own aloud before now. No time for that, he thinks, stay on track.

“Your… children?” She asks, sounding surprised. He doesn’t blame her for that. He’d never considered himself to be one for family before either. He doesn’t regret that they happened to fall into his life anyway though.

“Naminé, blonde girl, blue eyes, about this tall.” He holds his hand out for height. They’re hardly children anymore, but he’d always been on the impressively tall side for a human. “Haru, about the same age, gray hair, green eyes. Have you seen them?”

He can finally see somewhat straight, and it’s enough to see the thoughts practically racing in Belle’s head.

“And how do I know they aren’t running from  _ you?” _ She asks. He sighs. 

“You don’t, I suppose.” This was pointless, he was going to get nothing here. At this point he should simply retreat and hope the worst he’d get is a black eye out of this. “I am.. Sorry. I should not have come here.”

He turns to walk away. If he’s lucky the serving staff won’t stop him if he makes a straight line back to his ship.

“I wouldn’t have thought you a family man, for all you looked down on love.” Belle says, still at a distance, still holding the candelabra. He laughs.

“I would not have either, in honesty.” He admits freely. “I thought love was a pox, something so easily used to chain.. and something utterly unsuited to one such as me.”

“And now?”

He doesn’t understand why she’s so curious.

“It is still a chain, one easily manipulated by those evil enough to do so… but perhaps one that is worth the blessings it gives.” He says, and startles when she touches his elbow, surprised that she had gotten so close. How hard had she hit him?

“I thought Sora killed you.” She says, surprising him again with the question veiled as a statement.

“He did.” He answers. She tilts her head. “It’s.. complicated. I would invite you to ask him instead, but he is also among those missing.”

“Sora’s missing?” Belle asks, expression instantly morphing to worry.

“Amongst others.” He nods. “I am searching for them.”

“But why? I thought you were enemies.”

“We were. I.. had some realizations, after my defeat.” That, and he’d gotten his heart back. He doesn’t feel the need to go into the details right now. “I have spent much of my time since attempting to atone for my wrongdoings.”

“Well if that’s the case you’ve done a pretty awful job of it.” She sets the candelabra down and crosses her arms, leveling him with a glare that reminds him all too much of Kaze when she’s done with someone’s shenanigans. He blinks, confused.

“What?” He asks. She huffs.

“Or were you going to apologize to us too eventually?”

Oh.

“I thought..” He swallows, mouth dry. “That perhaps in this case the best apology would be to simply allow you to not have to suffer my presence.”

“And yet here you are anyway.” She accuses. She leans forward, angry, but she hasn’t picked up a weapon again, which tells him what kind of anger it is.

“I meant to not be seen, but I could not let an entire world go unchecked when my children” and there was that phrase again, “were missing.”

Belle leans back, hands now on her hips, expression morphing into something contemplative.

She sighs abruptly, and grabs his arm.

“Here, come with me.”

“What?” He asks, too stunned to resist as she pulls him down the halls.

“We need to put some ice on that eye. I won’t apologize for hitting you, considering, but I do feel I should at least do something to keep it from getting worse.”

His eye throbs as if in response to her words. He wonders how Kaze is going to react later.

Of course he’d left all his potions on the ship. It was going to be long past too late to throw a one on it by the time he gets back, especially considering the iron grip Belle has his arm in.

He  _ could _ wrench himself out of it, but considering his already tenuous standing with her, he decides better of it.

He’s dragged to a pantry type area, where Belle opens a clearly enchanted drawer and pulls out a tray of ice chunks. She wraps some in a thin towel and hands it to him.

“Here.”

“Thank you.” He responds automatically as he takes it from her. She chuckles.

“You really have changed, haven’t you.”

He closes both eyes, resting the cool package lightly against his sore temple, despite the pangs of pain it induces against his eye.

“I hope so.”

“May I ask what happened?”

It’s easier to answer than he thought.

“After my defeat, I found myself in the ruins of my hometown, with a slew of regrets I never knew before. It was some time before I could truly confront them. A few years ago I ran into the most effervescent woman you have ever seen. Her name is Kaze…”

-

He returns home, no clues, nothing in hand, having utterly failed in his mission.

Kaze greets him from her place at the table, holding a cup of coffee that looks to have long since gone cold. He wonders how long she’s been there, waiting for her family to come home.

They share a glance, and he doesn’t feel the need to verbalize his failure. It’s apparent enough.

“They’ll come home safe. I’m glad you did too.” Kaze says. He sees the new slew of small nicks and cuts across her hands and arms, the type he recognizes well from the work of building construction. She’s not usually so careless.

He realizes he had left her alone those days and weeks just as effectively as the children had.

“I’m sorry.” He says. “For leaving.”

“We all have to do what we can.” She says. “You had to follow your heart.”

And with nothing to show for it, he feels ashamed. His shoulders hunch, and Kaze stands to come and move in front of him.

“You had to follow your heart.” She says again. “I get it. Just like I have to be here just in case they come looking for us at home.”

“How do you do it?” He asks. “Even as Xaldin I did not have that kind of patience.” If anything he’d had even less, really.

“I work.” She answers simply. “I work, and I work, and I work, and I plan. I keep my eyes and ears peeled for any sign of them. I think about what I’m going to cook when they come home, what little things I’m going to get them as gifts, where I might bring them so they can tell me about what happened.”

“I’m not used to caring like this.” His head falls forward to rest against her collarbone. She pets his hair.

“I know. It’s still hard, even when you are. But remember that no man is an island. We’re in this together.”

He wraps his arms around her in a loose hug, just breathing in her warmth and life.

“Of course.”

“I won’t stop you from searching, it actually does make me feel a little better knowing you’re looking for them, but please call me sometimes, okay?”

Ah. He’d gotten so wrapped up in his quest he’d forgotten.

“I will.”

“Good.” She leans back, a smile on her lips. “Now, are you going to tell me what happened to this pretty face of yours?”

He can feel the blush spreading across his cheeks.

“Ah, well. There was this young woman named Belle, I think you would quite like her actually…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> dilan doesn't know how to stop, kaze doesn't know how to start. they balance each other that way, and learn to deal in their own ways. (and yes, kaze is always keeping her ear to the ground and searching locally, but she understands that she just doesn't know enough about the worlds to launch a search widescale. dilan does. he just forgets to come home and rest, which is where *his* problem is.)
> 
> anyways, this was mostly dilan accepting he's basically a stepdad now, and he Cares a lot.


	18. Bath Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Even getting stuck in an alternate universe can't stop the sheer amount of shenanigans the cubs get up to. This, of course, means Bath Time.

“Stars above, you lot are  _ filthy!” _

The cubs are crowded in the main courtyard of the Land of Departure’s castle, absolutely  _ caked  _ in mud, grass, twigs, and other filth. Namine looks especially traumatized, her once gleaming coat now matted and gross. She shivers pathetically.

You sigh gustily, already knowing what’s about to happen. You exchange tired looks with your boys and then look to your Terra.

“Mind seeing if our hosts will let us borrow some stuff?” You ask.

“Yeah, I’m on it,” Terra sighs, turning to go back inside. “I’ll ask Aqua if she has any soaps in her pocket, too.”

“Bless her,” Lea mutters, already stretching the kinks in his arms out. It’s a good idea to stretch before a voluntary shift, especially since his progress has been shoved back by the interdimensional fuckery.

“Moon help us all,” Isa mutters, eyeing the increasingly restless cubs.

“Alright, you hooligans!” You shout, drawing your cubs’ attention. “We all know how this goes. You have until the tubs are filled to get your sillies out and hide. Don’t track mud inside or I’ll make you clean it up with your tongues. And remember, you can’t escape Bath Time.”

“YOU’LL NEVER TAKE ME ALIVE!!” Kairi shrieks, and all hell breaks loose.

You watch it all unfold like a daycare attendant watching toddlers in the playground as cubs run over each other, up the walls, and out the gates in their eagerness to escape. Only a select few stay behind. Meanwhile, Lea and Isa trot off to make their own preparations to hunt the kids down.

Namine curls up miserably next to Vanitas, still shivering. Sora chirrups in sympathy and wedges on her other side.

“You three are my favorites,” you inform them.

“We actually  _ like  _ Bath Time,” Vanitas says.

“Everybody else is a heathen,” Sora sniffs. He sticks his tongue out to start grooming Namine but then thinks better of it. Smart boy.

“What’s going on?”

You turn and wave hello to the approaching Terras - yours and this universe’s. It still astounds you how much different they are from each other. Smaller Terra is carrying a few coils of hose while Bearra cheerfully hoists a  _ huge  _ tub over his head. Your Aqua follows behind with a tote back filled with soaps and other necessary grooming supplies. Bless that woman.

“Bath Time,” you inform him. “At home we often meet up here just to hang out, and the kids will inevitably get super fucking dirty that we can’t let them inside on pain of a horrible death.”

“Got that right,” Aqua sniffs.

“These three,” you gesture to the patiently waiting trio, “are absolute godsends and stay put for bath time. Ventus and Kairi actually hate bathing in wereform, and Xion and Roxas are just shit stirrers.”

“Licking dirt out of fur is also super gross and nobody wants to do it,” Bearra explains. The other Terra nods, brows furrowed in faint confusion.

The hoses are swiftly hooked up and smothered in warming spells. Bearra drops the huge basin down in the middle of the courtyard and pokes a hose in, while the other two will be used for actual cleaning. You roll up your sleeves, yank on some cleaning gloves, and grab a bottle of shampoo.

“Alright, who’s first?” You ask the cubs. Sora and Vanitas magnanimously push Namine forward. You coo sympathetically as the shivering werefox shuffles closer, looking every inch the suffering waif she pretends to be.

“You poor, poor thing,” you sigh, spraying off loose dirt and twigs. “What’d they do, dunk you in a mud pit?”

“I overshot a jump,” Namine mumbles, shoulders hunched in embarrassment. “I fell in the muddy parts of the river.”

“Noooo,” you whine with her. “That’s  _ terrible.” _

“And then  _ everybody else  _ though it would be really fun to start a mud fight and it went  _ everywhere, _ ” Namine continues.

You click your tongue and gently massage some dirt out.

“Here,” you say, handing Namine the hose, “get your face rinsed and I’ll start up a lather. Next up! You’re gonna help me, too.”

Sora trots up, purring already. Namine hands you the hose, her muzzle already looking whiter than it was a few minutes ago, and you unrepentantly blast Sora with some water.

“Untie!” Sora protests, giggling and batting at the spray.

“What?” You ask innocently. “It got the job half-done.”

Sora chuffs at you and plops down behind Namine. You rinse off his paws and squirt some shampoo in them. He immediately starts scrubbing into Namine’s ruff, picking out twigs and leaves and stubborn chunks of rock. You rinse the rest of Sora off and work up a lather in his hair, feeling him purr as you dig in just behind his ears.

“And the best for last!” You call out, gesturing Vanitas closer. He approaches you and, when you lift the hose to start spraying down his front, snaps at the stream of water.

“You’re a goblin,” you tell your son. 

“Goblin Rights!” Vanitas and Sora both exclaim. You laugh and give Vanitas some shampoo to get started on Sora with.

By the time the three are nice and clean, the basin (well, more like a pool) has been filled with warm, steaming water as well as bubbles. The bubbles are very important. They also smell really good! After a final rinse, the cubs are allowed in.

“Sweet  _ mercy,”  _ Vanitas groans, sinking up to his chin. Namine leans against the side of the basin, purring as Haru, who’d ambled in a few minutes ago, carefully combs the tangles out of her hair. Sora paddles by on his fifth lap, tail standing straight up and tip twitching back and forth like a metronome. You can almost hear the ticking.

“Reeeeen,” Roxas, who had been dragged in by Isa, whines.

“Roxaaaas,” you whine back, digging your nails into his pelt as you scrub.

“I could’ve shifted back and showered,” Roxas huffs.

“You and I both know that if you did you’d have dirt in  _ very strange places,”  _ you remind him.

“Rrrrgh, you’re right. Still.”

“We just like being chased,” Xion tattles on them both, beaming as Isa carefully rinses out their fur. Roxas gasps in mock offence at the treachery.

You don’t even glance up when a ruckus starts up just outside of the courtyard. Ventus’ distinctive caterwauling lets you know that he’s at last been caught. Aqua, regal lioness she is, prowls in with Ventus flopped over one shoulder like a sack of flour. Vanitas points and laughs.

“Welp, that’s almost all of them,” you sigh, slicking some loose hair back. “Lea still hunting Kairi down?”

“Yes,” Isa grunts, flat on his back and arm over his eyes. He grunts when you plop your head on his stomach, just as tired as him.

Meanwhile, Axel has been bemusedly following a trail of muddy pawprints that circle the foot of the castle’s base. Part of him thinks he shouldn’t be sticking his nose in the visitors’ business, but the rest of him literally can’t resist. He barely twitches when Myde (mother _ fucker  _ he still isn’t used to this) melts out of the shadows next to him.

“Whatcha doooin’?” Myde croons.

“Following,” Axel says. 

“Gotta follow,” Myde agrees, nodding seriously as he floats along. “You’re tracking Kairi, by the way. She  _ hates  _ bath time.”

“With all that fur? I don’t doubt it.”

“Yep, and it’s Lea’s job to drag her back.”

Axel pauses.

“Will I get snapped at if I keep tracking?” He asks. He’d apologised a while back, but that still doesn’t calm the guilty twinge in his chest and his usual habits of avoiding people he hurt.

“Nah, he’d just find it funny,” Myde assures, waving his hand.

Axel snorts but continues on. The tracks lead deeper into the forest, and Axel isn’t so soft as to forget how to track a target through the wilderness. The prints lead to a clearing close to a creek. Axel silently climbs a tree to get a better vantage point.

Visitor Kairi, in her fox form, is absolutely  _ covered  _ in mud and gleefully rolling in the sunlit grass. Her tongue lolls as she pants happily, reveling in freedom. Axel wrinkles his nose. Lord, she’s  _ filthy.  _

“Yeahhh, our Kairi  _ revels  _ in being a wild goblin,” Myde whispers conversationally. “She’s the hardest to pin down and get clean once she commits to living in filth.”

Kairi freezes and rolls upright, ears perked. Axel cocks his head to the side, watching. Next to him Myde snickers. A bush rustles.

Kairi leaps into a bolt, but is interrupted by something huge, red, and snarling tackling her from the side. They roll, snapping and barking, before Kairi goes limp with a whine. Her opponent raises their head, teeth bared.

Axel freezes.

It is undoubtedly Lea, but Axel had not expected him to be this  _ big.  _ He is easily twice Kairi’s size, one ginormous paw holding her down. Kairi growls again and wriggles, trying to escape, but Lea merely clamps his teeth around her neck  _ (sweet stars he could chomp her head off in one bite what the fuck)  _ and trots off. Axel remains silent as he goes, still startled by the revelation. 

“I knew your Terra was huge as a bear,” he murmurs, “but I didn’t think  _ he  _ would as a wolf.”

“Wolves are actually pretty fucking big,” Myde informs Axel. “And also our Lea is just so dang tall, but we’re blaming his weredom on that.”

“Fuck me,” Axel hisses as he climbs down. “Not the weirdest thing I’ve seen, though.”

That honor goes to when he later walks by the courtyard and sees all the visitors lounging in a bubble bath in a pool. He picks up his pace and futilely hopes the crazy isn’t contagious.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey its ya girl orion im just oozing and trying to get stuff done so i can graduate and the ennui is eating me alive but have some FLUFF


	19. Orbit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Were's purr

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> man this one is so old that when i was proofreading it it still had mentions of canon sora and kairi hanging out with the gang, meaning it was written pre-kh3. our writing process is very much non-linear (and also i totally forgot about this one for a while whoops)
> 
> anyway its been edited and back up to being compliant. hopefully.

The Land of Departure is crowded, now that the strangers no longer feel they have to isolate themselves to the guest wing.

It’s not necessarily a bad thing. The halls are filled with chatter, footsteps, teenagers and adults alike chasing each other through the halls and laughing. It’s just strange, is all, though certainly better than the nervous tension that had effused the place until recently. To Aqua, who basically grew up in these halls with only the Master and Terra (and later Ven) as company, it is so very odd to have so many people occupying the space.

There’s more than enough for them all, however. Space, that is. The castle is plenty big enough for all the visitors.

Her other self and the other Terra, (and isn't that odd?) are out in the pavilion. Her double is some kind of cat (she thinks? She hasn’t had the chance to ask, and it’s been long enough now she would feel silly doing so) and Terra is undoubtedly some kind of bear. He sits out on the grass now, as the Other Aqua looks out one of the tall stained glass windows, heads above any other resident of the castle, and yawning with absolutely enormous teeth.

Aqua turns away, striding down the steps, not sure where she’s going but mostly enjoying a peaceful afternoon, when Ven passes her. She’s already greeted him when she realises it’s the Other Ven, too old and too tall to be her own.

“What’s up?” She asks. She usually sees him with her own Ven in fact. The two have made for an incredibly mischievous duo, and as much as she loves them both, if she finds her shampoo replaced with hair dye one more time she might cast stopza on them both. Never mind that it’s usually Kairi that’s put the idea into one of their heads.

The Other Ven yawns. “Not much. Gonna see what Terra’s up to.”

She smiles. “Well don’t let me keep you.” She ruffles his hair as she passes. He protests, but they both know he’s grinning. He may not be Her Ven, but he’s still a sweet boy and she likes him. She walks on.

She sees Vanitas hanging out in a corner. She tries not to react. He does the same. She’s still not sure how to react to him, now that she’s trying her best not to see him as an enemy. She’s sure it must be the same for him.

She enters the library, taking in the smell of musty books and old leather. It was one of her favourite places in the castle. Terra and Ven didn't care much for it, though Ven tried sometimes he often just couldn’t focus long enough to really enjoy it. Aqua however had many fond memories of this library, enjoying it’s quiet, and listening to the master read to them and with them when they were younger.

Today it is occupied. She spies the visiting Isa and Lea on one of the bay windows, talking quietly. The other Roxas is also heading their direction, loping across the tile in full were form, claws clicking across the tile. She picks up one of the books on the table. It’s a deep blue with red embossing titled Tale of the Wolf. Someone has a sense of humour, clearly.

“Hey, Blue!” It’s Lea. She puts down the book. She doesn’t know how she ended up being ‘Blue’ when his best friend is Isa, but she supposes there are worse nicknames.

“Are you enjoying the library?” She asks. She considers teasing him, but while she and Lea may have come to accord, she doesn’t think she’s ever going to totally earn his trust. Not after Vanitas. It’s within his right.

“Very,” says Isa at the same time that Lea says “Eh it's okay.”

She chuckles, briefly reminded of her master asking her and Terra the same question.

“And you?” She asks the Other Roxas, but he’s not really paying attention to her, looking off to the side, ears flitting to and fro like he’s listening for something.

“Oh uh..” he stutters, trying to focus back in, “It’s fine, um… Sorry I gotta go.” and just like that he wanders off as quickly as he’d arrived. Lea, who had turned to look out the window, gives a sardonic chuckle, and slips off the window seat.

“Yeah, sounds about right. See ya, Blue.” he almost gives her a shoulder pat as he walks past, but obviously decides against it at the last second. She doesn’t fault him for it. She lets him pass and then looks at Isa. He’s looking out the window too, until he lets out a deep sigh and gives a long stretch.

“Well alright then.” He says, and then gets up. Aqua, more confused now, gives him a questioning glance. He just smiles.

“Coming?”

Her questioning stare gets more confused, and he just shrugs as he leaves.

She trails him at a distance.

They head towards the entrance hall, and Aqua spots several of the other visitors, most of them in their various werebeast forms, and a couple in the middle of transforming as they walk. They lope out into the front pavilion, and then past it into the grassy training area.

A whole crowd has gathered, and in the middle of it is Terra, asleep and letting out a deep rumble that Aqua can barely hear but almost feel in her bones. Her double and the Other Ven are curled up on either side, asleep. Roxas and Xion are chatting with Comet and Isa, though she doesn't see the Other Lea. Both Riku’s are sitting nearby in the shade of a tree, talking, at least until Sora and Kairi, in jaguar and fox forms respectively, pile onto them. Vanitas, the other boy who was Riku but Not (Haru? She's pretty sure his name is Haru. She likes to think she's decent with names, but many of them had been avoiding her, justifiably so) and Namine aren’t quite piled together, but are near enough and mirroring each others poses enough that it is clear they are a group.

Lea lopes past her (why is he limping? And hadn't he left before her?), and settles in with Comet, Isa, Roxas, and Xion. Roxas and Xion immediately move in to nuzzle him affectionately, and it's only at that point that Aqua notices the noise.

They’re all purring. Or rumbling. With all of them together like this it’s almost a drone. Even at a distance it soothes some of the jagged edges on her bones, and she finds herself relaxing. She hadn’t even been tense before, but the smooth rumble unties some knot in her chest she hadn’t even truly noticed.

She finds herself wandering down the stairs, towards the group, though she stops short of actually joining. She sees Isa, apparently having had enough of being touched shrug Lea’s arm off his shoulders and get up. Lea takes this with good grace, sleepily lowering his arm to rest over his kids, who are cuddled together on the grass. Comet scoots closer to his back now that there’s extra space.

Isa walks past her, pausing to scrutinize her expression.

“What’s going on?” she asks. It seems so.. Out of nowhere.

“All weres purr. Sometimes when one starts we all end up joining in on some level. It’s a bonding thing. Terra’s goes far further and deeper than most, though, and draws people into his orbit as a result. This happens often.” He answers, and then continues up the stairs. She turns to look at him.

“Why aren’t you staying?” She asks.

“I did.” He answers, and then continues up the stairs.

Huh, she thinks. It’s odd, seeing all these fluffy bodies, rumbling in tandem, but…

It feels nice.

She might miss this, once they go home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> just some bite sized fluff. anyway i desperately miss having a cat.


	20. AU

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things continue to untense. Myde still hates it here.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> time to see what's up with our favourite fourth wall breaker

Myde  _ hates _ this universe.

He feels sick all the time, his powers are down to basic shapeshifting and the occasional faint omniscience that also leaves him with a killer headache, people keep attacking his pod, and above everything else  _ there is no Abyss. _

It  _ sucks. _

Not to mention Canon Ienzo keeps trying to pin him down for Capital R Research and Myde just doesn’t want any part of that. That’s not  _ his _ boyfriend, he doesn’t  _ get _ boyfriend research privileges.

He peers from Aqua’s shadow as Canon Ienzo gives her a brief update over the phone on his progress, and she fields a number of questions. Aqua’s was still the only phone properly calibrated to run in this universe (or rather, she’d been given a spare one that Ienzo had lying around), so the responsibility largely fell to her. He’s not mistrustful necessarily, he knows all Ienzo’s are Good Boy’s, but it’s still…

It’s still not  _ his _ Ienzo, and it’s left Myde feeling a little bit sour.

“Volunteers?” He hears Aqua ask, and Myde realizes he’s tuned out somewhere along the line. Ironically, his sense of time is slightly better in this universe, since he’s not shifting between realities as much, but he’s more prone to flitting in and out of consciousness as his personal Abyss struggles to support him.

“Yes, only one or two and only for a few hours. Nothing intrusive, I merely need someone from your universe in the same room as me while I make some adjustments.”

Aqua glances down at Myde, or rather, the one or eight eyes perched in her shadow where Canon Ienzo can’t see.

The shadows rise and fall in what he hopes comes across as a shrug.

“Not me.” He grumbles. Aqua just smiles.

“I’ll ask around.” She responds to the scientist on the other end. “No one goes alone, however.”

“Of course, of course.” Ienzo hurries to assure. “I completely understand, given your.. Less than complementary start in this universe. Rest assured whatever precautions you deem necessary I will heed.”

“Good.”

“I will be by tomorrow afternoon with a ship for whoever is willing to assist me.” And the phone clicks off.

Aqua sighs, and starts to make the trek back towards the rooms. She was on the far side of the castle, hoping to see herself and ask if she could borrow some of her metalworking tools to repair some bent chain links, but it would have to wait.

Not that she really wanted to. The other her may have apologized, and Aqua knew herself well enough to know it was sincere, but she also knew how long it took her to grow comfortable with change. Everyone was under strict orders to not surprise the other Aqua if at all possible.

What a strange feeling, to distrust yourself, and see what you yourself could so easily have become.

Stranger still that this is not the first time she’s felt it.

“I told you to stop thinking about that.” Myde rises from the shadow, though only enough to wrap around one of her arms. “Ain’t none of us perfect.”

“It’s hard not to.” She admits. “I hated him too. For far too long.”

“For completely legit reasons, he’s admitted that himself. You got over it. You’re fine now.”

“Hm.” She hums but doesn’t answer otherwise. Myde pulls away and forms a more humanoid shape purely so he can pout at her. She continues to look straight ahead, ignoring him. How rude.

“You know there’s lots of universes out there.” Myde says, falling into step beside Aqua. Kind of. His lower half is still mostly shadow-blob so it’s more like a slide than a step, but it’s the thought that counts.

“I assumed, since we’ve managed to get into this one somehow.” Aqua answers. "It's strange what things are the same, and what are different."

"There's a whole spectrum, from almost nothing to everything except one little detail and everything in between. And some that start almost the same and change more later. The one where Sora's in a wheelchair is like that."

"It feels like ours is like that too, a little." Aqua hums. "Aside from weredom, our trials at the beginning seem.. Very similar. It makes me wonder what else might have changed, or didn't."

“There’s one where Sora’s the Big Bad.” He says with a grin, and she snorts. “Yeah he time travelled and set the whooooole thing up from the shadows. Well intentioned, but still.”

“Sora? No way.” She finally turns to look at him, mirth in her features. “I thought you couldn’t see all this other universe stuff?”

“I still get snippets, but only when the writers let me.” Myde waves a hand vaguely as Aqua squints at him, confused. “There’s another one where it’s me. Or or or! How about the universe where Axel managed to steal Roxas away so Sora never woke up? I’d call that one a pretty bad decision myself.”

“Myde…” Aqua sighs. He pays it no mind.

“Or that one where everyone died. Man that first timeline sucked.”

Aqua looks at the ground quietly. Myde flits about her in worry.

“Was that too far? That was too far. Look, my point was that it’s complicated. We’re all just doing our best, yknow? You don’t get to take on her decisions.”

She’s quiet for a moment more before she looks up.

“Are there any universes where things are just.. Better?”

“Oh sure, tons. The coffeeshop and college AU’s will never die. But mostly it’s not really better or worse, just different.”

“Tell me about them.” She asks, and he hums. Pulling on the information is much harder when he’s actually trying.

“There’s one where Ven never got to the Land of Departure, threw Xehanort's whole plan out the door, and he grew up with Sora on the islands.”

“Destiny Islands.. That sounds nice.” She says, even if she doesn’t like the thought of having never met Ven. If he had to be anywhere else.. Destiny Islands were a nice place to be.

“There’s one where Isa and Lea run a gay bar and get into a surprising amount of trouble doing it.”

Aqua laughs a little at that one.

“Lea I can see, but Isa?”

“Management. I think you’re dating Tifa in that universe.”

“Ooooh I have good taste.” Aqua laughs again. “What else?”

“Hmmmmm…” Myde tilts his head. A number of eyes close and open asynchronously. “Oh there’s one where you and Terra had a kid.”

“Only one?” She asks, surprised. Terra and her had talked about kids, but they didn’t want to jump the gun on it. She found it hard to believe so few would actually go for it.

“Oh no there’s tons, but usually it’s after, this one you had when you were still training under Eraqus.”

Aqua stops walking.

“What.. happened to them?”

“Spoilers.” Myde tries to grin, but Aqua looks grim. “No seriously, the kid is fine. Promise.”

He doesn’t actually know that, his omniscience is more than a little shaky right now, but it’s worth it to see colour return to Aqua’s face. She thankfully doesn't seem to notice that he hadn't mentioned what had happened to her parents.

“I wouldn’t have pegged you as a kid person, actually.” He says once they start walking again. “You’re always so… focused. On training mostly.”

“I’m not drawn to them the way Terra is if that’s what you mean.” Aqua says, no offence taken. “But I do like them. More the older ones. Helping raise Ven was kind of my ideal.” She chuckles.

“No diapers sounds great.”

“Yes.” She agrees with a laugh, before her expression grows wistful. “I would like to have one someday. The time just hasn’t been right yet.”

“Have fun with those diapers I guess.” Myde makes a face. She elbows him good naturedly.

“I promise I won’t make you babysit.” She says. He huffs.

“I promise you absolutely will.” He returns. It’s gonna be a heck of a flu virus to leave him the only one standing nearby and he’s not looking forward to it. He isn’t exactly rated for babies.

They reach the door of the rooms the crew has been staying, and Aqua gives a sharp series of knocks to announce herself before shoving it open.

“Aqua!” Sora calls with a grin. Lea curses and pulls the boy back down as he starts to move, one hand still held where he was attempting to paint the boys nails.

“Sora, I’m not done yet, sit down!” He reprimands, and Sora plops back down with an embarrassed smile.

“Sorry.”

Isa is reading a small stack of loose paper reports in one corner, Naminé appears to be drawing, and Xion seems to have made an impromptu bed of both Haru and Riku, sprawled over both sleeping boys like a particularly heavy black and fuzzy blanket.

“Ienzo needs someone to help him tomorrow. Any volunteers?”

“Oh, me!” Sora raises his free hand.

“It will involve a lot of standing and not moving.” Myde adds. Sora’s hand goes back down.

“Nevermind.” He says. Isa huffs a quiet laugh.

“I think I’d like to go.” Naminé speaks up. “It’d be nice to see Ienzo again, even if it’s not really him.”

“Can’t relate.” Myde mutters, though he does it in a tone even the were’s can’t hear.

“Okay, but I’d like you to take someone with you just in case. I know Ienzo is level headed enough, but we just can’t take any chances.”

“I can accompany her, if that’s all right.” Isa says, setting the sheets he’d been looking over aside. “I would like to speak to Ienzo anyway.”

Naminé nods.

“That sounds fine to me.”

“Alright.” Aqua says. “He’ll be here after lunch tomorrow, meet in the hangar.”

“You sure, Isa?” Lea looks over, clearly not enthused by the idea of Isa being out of reach like that.

“We will be fine, Lea.” Isa answers levelly. “And if things are not then I am more than capable of taking care of us both.”

“That’s my boyfriend.” Lea grins, and returns to painting Sora’s nails. His body has shifted to point more towards Isa though, betraying the small anxiety he still feels over it.

Aqua sits heavily in one of the chairs, more than ready for a nap. Myde goes over to Naminé.

“Tired?” She asks. He must look worse than he thought. Which is pretty bad when you spend most of your time as an amorphous puddle of goo.

“The sleeping realm could take me now and I would not argue.” He sags against the edge of the table. A moment later he tips and falls through it. The papers and pencils scattered across its surface don’t even shift. He lays under the table and doesn’t bother getting up.

The table leg currently spearing what  _ should _ be his liver is more an annoyance than a problem after all.

“I don’t think the Abyss would like that.” Naminé leans over in her chair so she can look down at him as she speaks. Myde snorts.

“Well then maybe it shouldn’t have let me go.” He sinks into the shadows and then wraps around Naminé’s ankle like an anklet. “Remember when I was a physical person with a body and stuff? That shit was wild. How did I do it all the time?”

“Practice, mostly.” Naminé says, returning upright and picking up her drawing again. “It’s hard for me sometimes too. I feel like I could float away in this place. Xion feels like they’re falling apart. I hope we can go home soon.”

“Me too, Bubbles. I like our AU best.”

“Well of course.” She answers. “It’s home.”   
  
  


Lea does not look up even though Sora is blatantly staring towards Namine.

“What do you think they mean by that?” Sora asks. Lea tsks.

“Kid, I don’t know and I really don’t want to. Sit  _ still.” _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> obviously i couldn't reference all of my favourite fanfics because otherwise this would be the fic that never ended, but i still got a few in there and it makes me happy.


	21. Fetch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The cometverse crew plays a game

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is shyrstyne, updating on behalf of orion since their dad is an asshole who decided cutting of their wifi (and thus every possible part of their support network) during a pandemic was a real smart idea. somehow. no we haven't figured out what good he thinks will come of that either.
> 
> anyway, they gave me permission to put up their chapters for them and i mention this because if this seems edited weirdly compared to orion's other chapters its because they do layout very differently from me, so i'm not quite sure how this'll look when alls said and done lol. hopefully still half decent.
> 
> and if you could send good vibes (and prayers if you're the religious sort) orion's way i'm sure they'd appreciate it.

“So we have our items?”

“Yep.”

“The prizes?”

“Yep.”

“Let’s do this shit.”

\---

The moon is full and bright. Your pack stretches out in the largest training field available. Roxas and Vanitas roll around in a tussle, Kairi circling and hopping around for an opening. Lea sprawls out in the middle, Aqua draped on top of him. Terra gleefully chases a screeching Xion and Ventus around the perimeter. Sora sits patiently as Namine carefully grooms his hair.

All the shifters are assembled.

Exactly as planned.

Haru sticks his fingers in his mouth and whistles.

“Alright, let’s get this show on the road!” You call, gesturing for your family to come closer. The more energetic of the lot bound forward, and they all sit in a group in front of you and the rest of the non-shifters. You lift the object in your hand. “Y’all know how this goes! We throw, we hide, you find.”

“What’re the prizes?” Ventus asks, wiggling in excitement.

“You’ll see,” Riku answers.

“How did you manage to  _ get  _ them? I thought ‘teleporting for groceries is a frivolous waste of magic’,” Lea drawls, quoting their hosts. Aqua snorts and nudges her shoulder against his.

“We asked nicely,” Isa says smoothly. 

“Don’t worry about it,” you deflect.

“I’m worrying about it,” Lea grumbles. 

“Anyway, it’s fetch quest time,” Haru interrupts.

“WOO!” Sora yells.

“Usual rules apply!” You continue, ignoring the steadily building energy. “Now, y’all ready?”

“Yeah!”

You draw your arm back, lightning building in your hand, wrapping around the magically enhanced ball. You feel the familiar, near-identical but yet so different magics of Haru and Riku as they also charge their throws. Isa simply steps back and summons his claymore, tossing his ball into the air for a serve.

“GO!” You shout, and four balls streak into the distance. Immediately the weres take off, Lea baying like a hunting hound. You wait approximately ten seconds.

“DIBS ON THE CEILING!” Haru screeches, tearing off in the opposite direction. Riku swears and sprints towards the other side of the castle. Isa lopes  _ towards  _ the forest because he’s very confident in his ability to be a stealthy,  _ scary  _ motherfucker.

You, however, have other ideas. Just yesterday you had helpfully installed a lightning rod at the peak of the castle. You’re such a bastard genius.

“Doesn’t this count as cheating?” Myde burbles, floating up next to you as you climb up the wall.

“Nahhh,” you snicker. “Just being creative with my solutions.”

“I’ll let it slide this time, because I  _ know  _ you’ve been planning this for a while.”

“Oh, hey, looks like Riku got caught,” you note as Riku’s flare goes up. 

“Mmmm looks like Aqua found him,” Myde hums, some of his eyes closing.

“She’s very good at hunting,” you muse, clenching your thighs around the pole. You reach the top easily, resting your legs on the perpendicular bar you had welded to the main rod. You are now safe on your perch, and none but the bravest can reach you.

“Yeah, no, this is totally cheating,” you eventually admit.

“It’s good and healthy to admit your flaws,” Myde teases. You swipe at him, your hand passing harmlessly through his smoky form.

You look out into the evening air. The stars twinkle gently, clouds barely seen thanks to the full moon. You can’t help but frown - the shapes are unfamiliar. Some stars are too far to the right, or a little lower than usual. The constellations are all wrong. 

“Hey, none of that,” Myde suddenly murmurs, tendrils curling around your shoulders. “Right now, we’re  _ playing.  _ We can have a good cry later, okay?”

You shudder out a breath and literally shake your grief off. You are further distracted by another flare. It arcs up from a window from the castle.

“Xion got Haru,” Myde reports. “Got his ankle and dragged him down from the ceiling.”

“This is why you don’t lounge in jumping range.”

“Just you and Isa left.”

You hum and scratch your chin, gazing out into the forest. Isa is probably raising merry hell out there. Of all the supposed monsters in your family, Isa is the only one who manages to be  _ genuinely terrifying  _ and actually mean it.

“Bet I’m the last one caught,” you snicker.

“No bet,” Myde snorts.

“What the hell are you  _ doing  _ up there?!”

“Oh shit it’s the cops,” Myde hisses, retracting closer to your shoulders. This dimension’s Aqua glares up at you from a window in an adjacent tower, hands on her hips.

“We’re playing a game,” you explain.

“What  _ kind  _ of game?” Aqua asks.

At that, a blue flare streaks up from the forest.

“YEEEAAAAAH!!” You scream, throwing your arms up. Myde shrieks and whirls around and around before settling back on your shoulders. “I win forever!”

Aqua pointedly clears her throat.

"Basically it's a mix between fetch and hide and seek, and right now I'm winning," you hurriedly explain. "Now if you could please go somewhere else before you give away my hiding spot." 

"Comet, what the  _ fuck!"  _ Terra,  _ your  _ Terra calls up to you from a different window, your still slightly sparking ball in one paw. You pout but turn to him.

"Whaaat? This totally counts," you tell him, jutting your chin out.

"How the hell am I gonna get up there?" Terra whines playfully.

"Babe, you're definitely cheating," Lea calls up to you, sitting next to Terra.

"Well, nyeh!" Is your eloquent response.

More of your family gathers at the window, objecting at your Genius plan. You shimmy down the pole just enough to twirl around it, one leg crooked around the pole while the other sticks straight up in the air. You continue your impromptu pole dance routine as your pack manages to find their way to the bottom of your pole. You end your dance with a falling angel - thighs clenched tight around the pole as you let your torso fall backwards, arms spread as if you were about to swan dive. 

Isa obligingly whistles because Lea can't right now.

"Now get down here!" Terra laughs.

"Never!" You yowl, shaking your fist down at him. 

"Dude, just knock it down, Ren'll be fine," Vanitas grunts. Betrayal from your own son!

"Van, you're out of the will." You huff. 

"How bout I melt the bottom and you catch them, since you found their ball and all," Lea proposes. Your own partner, too! You look to Isa, hoping somebody will have some sense in this madness.

Isa gives you a look that says you deserve every bit of this madness. You pout at him.

You shout down insults as Lea places a claw at the base of your pole. You can just barely see the glow as the metal starts to heat up. Myde cackles and abandons you to your fate. Bastards. All of them. You'll allow it, though. It's only fair, since you managed to pull off your lightning rod trick.

The metal eventually breaks, and your stomach flips as you fall. You quickly jump, not wanting to get smooshed by the metal. Terra catches you effortlessly, planting a slobbery lick on your face.

"Aaugh, gross!" You laugh, pushing his muzzle away. 

"Aaaand?" Terra rumbles hopefully.

You obligingly bring out the prize from your inventory - a huge block of ice made with meats and berries. Terra gleefully sticks the treat into his maw with a happy hum. Lea noses his face.

"Do I get a piece for helping?" He asks pitifully.

"Mmmm fiiiine," Terra playfully sighs, breaking off a chunk with one flick of his claw. Lea victoriously snaps up the treat. You check your phone for the time. Jeez, two o'clock already? No wonder Local Aqua was annoyed.

"Alright, I'm going to bed." You announce.

"I'll come with you." Namine yawns, muzzle stained from her own treat prize she got from Isa.

"See you hooligans in the morning." Vanitas drawls, padding up next to you.

The others laugh and wish you good night, choosing to stay up a little longer. Myde has already started up a small song with Sora and Kairi. Everybody has started to relax a little bit, hackles lowering and ears perking up.

A good game of fetch always helps work some stress out. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is one of those concepts that has actually been around almost since the very beginning... and yet somehow it took till now for it to actually show up. there's even two full versions of this chapter, since the first iteration was so old it included mentions of _lauriam_, and had to be rewritten in it's entirety. literally written before we'd even really decided on who the cast was lol


	22. The Return

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time to go home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> don't mind that little bit that re:mind decanonised. we all knew it was bound to happen

When Ienzo comes into the little communal space you and the rest of your family had carved out of the Land of Departure you don’t think much of it at first. Despite the trip between Radiant Garden and Departure being somewhat out of the way, he makes it with regularity, gathering samples and data as he works to get you and your group home. 

When he stands in the centre of the room and gives a light cough to gather everyone’s attention though, you sit up and pay attention. You see him scan the room. 

“Is everyone here? Ah, no, Riku and… Haru? Are missing. Could someone fetch them for me please?”

You lean forward in your seat, setting down the book you were reading and you feel Isa tense in anticipation behind you. Lea, who has been curled up at your feet gets up and starts pacing. 

Whispers break out amongst your group, but Ienzo just shakes his head and refuses to elaborate until Naminé comes through the door with Riku and Haru in tow. 

“I have good news.” Ienzo announces with a bright smile. “You’re all going home.”

The room  _ erupts _ into a flurry of chatter and movement, and Ienzo is all but swarmed by nearly the whole group as they chatter and demand details in their excitement. 

“Back up, let him breathe.” Isa gets up and extricates Ienzo from the crowd. The others back up, but only slightly, too caught up in the anticipation of finally being able to go home. 

“It’s quite alright, I know how much you all wish to return to your lives. I’ve prepared some ships for you.”

“Can… do we get to say goodbye?” Sora asks, making the fervour settle a bit. 

That was right, you realize. None of you would be coming back here, in all likelihood. Turbulent though your time here had been, it had been a strange sort of humbling to see how things Might Have Been… and of course Sora had made some friends here. It was in his lifeblood.

“I did let the others of this universe know that I had finished preparations, and most of them are waiting by the landing pad.” Ienzo answers. Sora bites his lip. 

“Just one second- Kairi can I..?” He asks, and she nods, pulling her notebook and pencil out of her satchel. He shuffles away, writing furiously. 

“I think the rest of us can get started.” You say. “Maybe we’ll be halfway through our own goodbyes by the time he catches up.”

That nets a laugh from the little gathering, and then there’s a flurry of movement as people gather their scattered things, few though they were, and start heading for the hangar. 

There is a motley crew gathered there, just as Ienzo had said. You blink back tears as you survey this group of faces that are both familiar and not. You see Kairi approach the Riku of this universe and take his face in her hands.

“You’ll find them.” She whispers. “They’ll be okay.”

You can’t hear his reply, but you see the way he closes his eyes and leans in to her touch.

Your attention is dragged away when Axel and the other Isa approach you. Despite the apology, you still feel Lea tense next to you, like he always does.

“It was.. Illuminating.” The other Isa speaks first. “I wish you all safe travels.”

“And for you as well, wherever they may take you.” Your own Isa responds, equally formal. Lea rolls his eyes.

“Just don’t go around attacking people maybe.” He snarks. Axel sniffs at him.

“Yeah, yeah. No promises.”

You sigh, disappointed, and the other Isa elbows Axel pointedly.

“But I’ll uh. I’ll try. If I see him, self defence only.” He mutters.

“Good enough.” Lea shrugs, patting his double heavily on the shoulder and then deliberately moving past him. You chuckle, and you and Isa give them some final goodbye’s before your attention is drawn by the next group.

“Same goes for you.” Lea says as he watches the Aqua, Terra and Ven that aren’t yours approach.

“I won’t make promises I might not be able to keep.” Aqua says promptly, and then glances over to where Vanitas, Roxas and Xion are exchanging goodbyes with the other Roxas and Xion, sorrow crossing her face. “But… We’ll see what we can do, if we ever see him again. You’ve shown us he’s capable of more than we thought.”

The other Ventus is quiet. Terra places a solid hand on his shoulder. 

You’ve done what you can there. 

There’s a flurry of movement as Sora bounds down the stairs, parchment clutched tightly in one hand. He skids to a stop in front of the Riku from this universe and shoves several papers into his chest. 

“Please deliver these for me.” Sora says, sincere determination in every syllable. “Before you… go.”

It was obvious he didn’t mean leaving the ship hangar. 

“Okay.” Riku responds to Sora with characteristic calm steadiness. “Who are they for?”

“The other Sora’s mom, you, Kairi… myself.” He shifts. “I know you can help him, but I thought.. maybe I can help him too.”

Riku’s gaze goes so soft and sad you feel your heart twist. 

“Thank you Sora. I’ll be sure to pass them along.”

Sora grins brightly, all sunshine and smiles now that he’s secured Riku’s co-operation (as if there would be any other possibility). He starts to turn away, likely to continue his goodbyes to the others, before he pauses. 

“And  _ tell _ him you love him, okay? He’s too stupid to pick up on the stuff you do for him.”

Riku lets out a surprised laugh, flushing brightly. 

“You- He’s never been stupid.” The boy says quietly. “But I’ll keep it in mind. Get home safe.”

And with that he walks away, papers clutched tightly in a clenched fist. 

You don’t miss that he had specifically avoided saying goodbye to Sora. 

There are a few group clusters, and they change frequently as each person tries to get in a goodbye. You see your twins laughing at something the other Roxas and Xion have said. Myde has drawn Ienzo off to one side, and you wonder what’s going on there.

The Aqua, Terra, Ventus group even go up to Vanitas at one point, and though it looks somewhat awkward, you think they wish their farewell’s sincerely, and it gives you just a little bit of hope.

Eventually everything that can be said has been, and you all file into the ship. Most of your family chatters excitedly the entire trip to the Garden, and you can’t blame them. You’re more than ready to return home yourself.

“I’m gonna find the biggest, reddest apple I can find and eat it.” Vanitas says. You ruffle his hair.

“Really, that’s the first thing you’re gonna do when you get back?” Ventus laughs at him. “I’m gonna go home, fall into my bed, and know it’s actually mine.”

“A nap sounds nice.” Naminé says. “All the echoes kept giving me headaches, I haven’t slept well since we got here.”

“I’m gonna wrap myself around Ienzo and the Abyss itself is gonna have to pry me off him.” Myde sighs. “I miss him. This one was nice, but he wasn’t  _ mine. _ ”

Xion nudges Roxas.

“You gonna go see Hayner?” They tease. Roxas merely flushes and shoves back, causing a lighthearted tussle between them, though it doesn’t go far in the cramped space.

“It’ll be nice to just.. Walk around as myself again.” Haru mutters, but the whole mood of the ship shifts with it. Sora and Kairi nod sympathetically. Haru had ended up becoming something of a recluse, knowing his counterpart in this universe had died, sacrificing himself for Naminé, knowing how close it had been to his own fate.

You make a note to either talk to him later, or give Kaze the cliff notes version so she can.

Sora on the other hand had made it something of a mission to try and give the friends who’d been left behind hope, flitting from person to person like the social butterfly he was. Kairi’s goal had been much the same, though on a smaller scale.

Success had been… varied, to say the least. You hadn’t seen most of it yourself, but you’d heard about it.

“I’m looking forward to being back in my own kitchen.” Terra says wistfully. “Expect me to send you all gift baskets because I think I’m just going to spend an entire week baking.”

“I look forward to it.” Isa smiles. “I think I’m just going to be happy to be home.”

“Agreed.” You sigh with anticipation. “Sleep in my own bed.”

“That’s what I said!” Ven laughs.

“Me too.” Xion says. “I vote we stay home for a bit after this.” They look over at Roxas, who nods.

“Yeah. After we stake the place out for a bit.”

Your eyebrow raises at that, especially as you see Xion and Vanitas both nodding in serious agreement, but Lea just laughs.

“Yeah, all us were’s are gonna be pretty twitchy and territorial for a bit. Sorry Comet, Isa, you’ve got four of us to deal with.”

Haru looks over at Naminé.

“Even you?”

“I definitely want to.. Check things? When we get back? I’m not sure how to explain it.”

“It’s a den thing.” Sora assures. “Mom can probably explain it better when we get home, she’s really good at that.”

The ship shudders as it goes in for a landing, and you all disembark into the Radiant Garden Castle, and are led quickly up to the labs, none of you willing to wait one more second than necessary.

“Now wait just a few minutes while I do the last preparations, and I will get you on your way.” Ienzo says, bustling to and fro the many machines and computers. Even and Ansem are there too, similarly occupied, and your whole group unconsciously shuffles Naminé to the center, keeping her away and out of sight.

There’s a popping noise deep in your eardrums, as if from a sudden pressure change, and a whirling, glowing vortex appears in the midst of the machinery.

Sora does a happy little jig and nearly starts to run forward before Riku grabs his arm.

“Hold on, hold on, I want to be absolutely certain that everything is correct before you go jumping in.” Ienzo admonishes, eyes trained on one monitor readout in particular. There’s a tense, several minute wait, and then Ienzo straightens with a smile.

“Everything appears to be perfect. Who would like to go first?”

A multitude of hands shoot into the air, but then you see Myde slide forward.

“I should go last.” He says. “I’m most likely to destabilize the whole thing.”

“Okay.” Ienzo nods, and Myde slithers to the back of the group. You watch him worriedly. It wouldn’t be fair if he couldn’t come home too.

There’s a moment when no one is quite sure who should  _ actually _ go first.

“Well, no time like the present.” Riku says and then strides forward. He pauses just before the glowing portal, grinning back at Sora and Kairi in particular.

“Race ya.”

Sora laughs.

“No fair!” And then he bolts forward, vanishing as well, followed quickly by a whooping Kairi.

You let out an incredulous little laugh. Ienzo doesn’t seem worried by them going one after another, merely gestures for the next to step through.

“C’mon, let’s go home.” Haru says, stepping forward and holding Naminé’s hand tightly. 

“Please.” She smiles and follows him through.

“Well!” Ventus is the next to bound forward. “You guys coming?” He turns back to Terra and Aqua, who aren’t far behind. He leaps through without waiting for an answer, making Aqua shake her head with a laugh.

“Ready?” She asks. Terra nods, holding her hand in his.

“Ready.” And they walk through together.

“I guess I can’t let Ven get too far ahead, or he’ll decide it’s some contest he’s won.” Vanitas sighs, stepping forward. He pauses only a moment. “Good riddance, no offence, Ienzo.” 

“None taken.” Ienzo waves it off, and then Van steps through. You can’t help the slight stab of anxiety as he vanishes. You reach out blindly, and you feel both Lea and Isa reaching back, fingers tangling at random.

“Us next!” Xion drags Roxas up to the glowing light. Roxas looks hesitant, casting his gaze back to the remaining few with clear anxiety.

“It’s okay, Roxas.” Lea says. “We’ll see you on the other side, yeah?”

Roxas swallows and then visibly steels himself. He nods, and then turns back to Xion and the portal, who both wait patiently for them. They step through together.

“It’s not wide enough for three.” Ienzo says flatly, seeing the pattern and warning your group before you can even attempt it. Lea gives a low chuckle.

“I should make sure Roxas is okay anyway.” He says, stooping to kiss your forehead and then turning to plant another one on Isa’s cheek. He untangles his fingers from yours and is through the portal without another word.

Just you, Isa and Myde left. You look up at Isa, hand still in his.

He doesn’t say anything, but he gives you a soft smile and nods. You step forward together, and into the glowing light.

It’s not quite as abrupt as your journey to the other universe, but not by much. You tumble hard as the ground vanishes from under your feet and everything seems to tilt sideways on you. Isa’s hand is no longer in yours and you’re not sure when you let it go. You blink dazedly and realise you’re face down on the floor, and a moment later there’s hands helping you to your feet.

You shake your head, chasing away the vertigo and realise it’s Ienzo.

“Welcome home.” He says, and as you look around you see your pack and family scattered around, and only feet away Isa is being helped up by Lea.

Everything feels..

Right.

You’d gotten used to the strangeness of the other universe over time, but it had never really gone away, and for everything to return to normal now almost feels weird.

It’s a good weird though, everything feels good and right again. You snap your fingers, reverting back to your old way of doing magic, and sparks snap to life with no difficulty. You grin widely, looking over at Lea and Isa and the kids, who are clustered nearby smiling just as broadly.

“We’re home.”

-

It takes some time to sort out transportation for everyone home. Once Myde appears and the portal vanishes, he explodes in a splay of darkness, coating the whole room and Ienzo in particular. He laughs giddily the whole time, and Ienzo’s utterly unsurprised expression keeps you from worrying too much about him.

He refuses to be drawn away from Ienzo in any way, and so extra ships have to be acquired in order to ferry people to their homes. Sora, Riku and Kairi end up going with Haru and Naminé to Kaze’s, and Terra, Aqua and Ven head back to the Land of Departure, which leaves the rest of you to head back to Twilight Town.

You expect to go home and collapse into bed.

You don’t expect a search party gathered out in front of your bar.

“What the-” You don’t have time to finish before someone breaks off from the group and launches themself at yours. It’s only after it’s come into full body contact with Roxas, tumbling them both ass over teakettle two or three times, that you realize it’s Hayner.

“Where were you!?” Hayner fists his hands in Roxas’ sweater. “We had a date you know!”

“It’s kind of a long story..” Roxas says, slightly dazed and rubbing his head. Hayner huffs and then leans down to kiss him. Olette cheers and Pence yells at them to get a room.

“Seriously though where the fuck were you?” It’s Adira, leaning deliberately against the outside wall of the bar.

“It really is a long story.” Lea rubs the back of his head. “Would you believe we got stuck in an alternate universe?”

“Yes.” Is Adira’s reply at the same time as Isa's friends Julie and Nora respond with “No.” and “Absolutely not.” respectively.

“We were worried.” Julie says. “Are you okay?”

“We’re fine, merely happy to be home. I’ll give you the whole story later, as unbelievable as it is.” Isa reaches out to rest a gentle hand against her shoulder. She smiles gratefully.

“Comet!” Another voice rings out, and you turn just in time to be bowled over yourself. The breath is expelled forcefully from your lungs as the full weight of a body lands solidly on your chest.

“Hey Yuffie.” You gasp. You try to grin, only to let it fall as you take in her expression and the subtle trembling in her arms.

"You’re okay!”

“Aw c’mon Yuff, we were only gone a few weeks.” You try to console, and you feel her tense.

“Comet-” You look up to find Aerith standing above you, concern in her features. “You were gone nearly four months.”

“I got your weird message and at first I thought it was a glitch but then Cid said there was no origin point for it and I thought maybe it was a cry for help and then we didn’t know where to look and-” Yuffie babbles.

“And then no one could find you or anyone in your family.” Leon strides up, kneeling next to your stunned face. Yuffie still hasn’t let go, and he makes no move to dislodge her. 

He signs his love to you, quickly and without prompting, and tears well in your eyes at how worried he must have been for that to be one of the first things he does.

“Four months…” Xion chews on their knuckles. “It wasn’t that long for us….”

“Alternate universe’ll do that. Time dilation effect and all that.” You know that voice, Cid strides up the street, tucking his phone away as he goes. You wonder who texted him.

“I missed your birthday.” You hear Roxas say, and there’s a rustle and a thunk as you can only assume Hayner socks him in the arm.

“Yeah well.. You can make it up to me later.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to worry you.” You pet Yuffie’s hair gently, and she sniffles.

“Just don’t do it again.” She huffs, and finally sits up. Your ribs creak in protest but you can’t bring yourself to throw her off right now.

“Shall we go inside?” Isa suggests. “Unless there are any other guests to show?”

“No, this was the search party.” You hear Nora say. “Well, there were a few others who helped on and off, but this is the main group.”

“I second going in.” Adira says. “I’ve paid the rent on this place for four months and I intend to collect!”

Oh jeez, you hadn’t even thought of that.

“I’ll pay you back.” You rub your face, and you hear her cackle.

“And I’ll take you up on that, but first everyone here deserves a drink!”

“In moderation for the kids!” They’re still just shy of legal most of them, but plenty old enough to have something small with supervision. “But yes, let’s just… enjoy being home yeah?”

“Yeah.” Lea says.

Yuffie pulls you in for one last quick hug.

“Glad you’re home, sib.” And then she releases you, bounding for the door.

“Me too.” You say, mostly to yourself. 

You take Lea’s proffered hand up, and then head inside with your family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so this was supposed to be the end of this arc... but there is a minor, semi-maybe-not-canon-but-maybe-it-is? sidebar after this. and then we'll be moving on to the last full arc of the series!


	23. Detour

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vanitas goes through a couple other places on his way home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so this is.... debaaaatably canon. as in someone (and i don't remember who i'm so sorry please let me know if you were the one who suggested this concept to us) said 'hey this would be fun' and i spent the next day gripped with I Have To Write
> 
> so did this happen? mmmmmaybe. but it sure was fun to write!
> 
> (also minor spoilers for the stardew valley au i guess, but that one's on it's own schedule and it'll be a while before it comes up)

Vanitas blinks and looks around. He’s surrounded by trees, there’s what appears to be a house surrounded by trees in the distance.

This isn’t home.

The crushing realization is compounded when he realizes that none of his family is here either. He’s completely alone.

“Who’re you?” A suspicious voice calls out, and Vanitas turns to see…

“Roxas?” He asks, flabbergasted. He’d gotten somewhat used to seeing the Other Roxas and Xion in the other universe, young and unscarred, but this Roxas is downright  _ tiny. _ He can’t be more than twelve, looking up at Van from a distance with a hard defiance in his eyes that’s still all too familiar.

“How’d you know my name? What’re you doing here?” The kid tenses, looking like he’s not sure if he’s going to run or fight. Van notes the fading remnants of a black eye and gaunt features.

“I’m just.. Passing through.” Vanitas answers, daring to hope that it’s true. Tiny Roxas narrows his eyes and opens his mouth before he’s interrupted.

“Rox, Comet says dinner- oh.” A black haired boy only a couple years older than Roxas trots up, only to pause as he sees Vanitas. “How’d you get this close? I didn’t smell you.”

It’s himself, Vanitas realises, though his eyes are red and he’s younger than Vanitas himself ever had the chance to be. He’s also a were, Van realizes with a tentative sniff, though the scent is weird somehow. His mind zero’s in on one thing though.

“Comet?” He asks. After the last universe where they hadn’t existed at all… something about them being here felt good, even if it obviously wasn’t  _ his _ ren.

“Yeah. Do you know them?” The tiny him asks. Roxas steps on his foot. Somehow Vanitas gets the feeling that of the two, Roxas is the distrustful one, and isn’t that a strange feeling?

Though by the angry glare tiny him gives them both, he’s not that trusting either.

“Sort of.” He settles on. He feels light, like he’s about to fall asleep, and after a moment he realizes it's not just in his head. He looks up, and sees the familiar face of his ren coming out of the farmhouse, calling for their kids.

He blinks, and then he’s somewhere else.

Another farmhouse, though this one is much different than the last, and in much worse shape. The field is overgrown and full of sticks and rocks and trees. Vanitas doesn’t know the first thing about farming, but even he can tell this place hasn’t seen use in some time.

There’s no one around, he heads south.

A train station, though it’s better kept than the farmhouse, it’s clearly still in need of some work. He sees a man there, and for a moment his heart lifts before he realizes just who it is sitting on the bench.

He freezes, but it’s too late to keep the man from noticing him. Xemnas looks up slowly, all languid grace just as he remembers him.

“Oh. I did not see you there. Do you live nearby?” Though… perhaps not exactly. There’s a bruise flowering across dark skin, and Vanitas is somewhat certain that the Xemnas he knew never bruised in his entire unlife. His hair is out of place, and the bag next to him looks like it was packed in a hurry.

“No.” Vanitas croaks out. He wants desperately for whatever took him away last time to take him again, but there is no such luck yet.

There’s a shift, and Xemnas looks down, making Vanitas realize he’s missed the girl sleeping on his lap completely. He sucks in a breath as he sees the straw blonde hair lift, and a  _ very _ young Naminé looks up at him blearily.

“Are we there yet?” She asks, so quietly that Vanitas was sure if he didn’t have were hearing he wouldn’t have caught it. Xemnas shakes his head.

“Almost.”

“Why are we stopped? Isn’t Grandpa chasing us?”

Xemnas flicks his eyes toward Vanitas, who stares back unflinchingly. He doesn’t know what’s happening, but he won’t pretend he isn’t there.

“Yes. I just needed to rest a moment before we meet them.”

“Are you scared?” Naminé sits up, wrapping so very tiny arms around him. “It’s okay. You always told me Comet was very nice.”

“You know Comet?” The words are out of Vanitas’ mouth before he can think about how wise that is. Xemnas levels him with a long, inscrutable look that makes his hackles rise in memory.

“I do.” He answers lowly. “And you?”

Vanitas turns and runs.

He continues south, or at least as south as the dense trees will allow him. Eventually he comes across another farmhouse, this one having obviously seen some recent renovation, and is in much better shape than the other.

There’s a giggle, and he sees a small child hopping from puddle to puddle. He’s wearing a raincoat and oversized boots, and giggles again as he chases a frog through the mud. Suddenly as if sensing his presence, the child looks up, meeting Vanitas’ gaze. The child doesn’t move, staring long past what Vanitas knows most people consider polite. Vanitas doesn’t know exactly what passes between them, but something assuredly does, the air heavy with anticipation.

“Van!” A voice calls, one achingly familiar. “Come inside, you can chase frogs later.”

The child turns away from Vanitas without a word, running for the open door of the farmhouse. The light within looks warm, and comforting.

How strange to feel that way about a place he’s never set foot.

He blinks.

He’s on a beach.

He can hear birds shrieking in the distance, the sound of waves on the shore. It’s a second-hand nostalgia he feels now, one all of the heart siblings know from Sora. He takes a deep breath, trying to enjoy the scene for what it is despite the panic growing in his chest that he’s not home and doesn’t know how or when he’ll get there.

Or if he does, will he just be ripped away again?

There’s chirping nearby, but Vanitas doesn’t pay it any mind, staring out to sea. He just wants to go home.

Something tugs on his pant leg. He looks down.

“Wha-” He startles, not expecting to be faced with a.. Bird.. person…. Thing……

It chirps at him, fluffing its feathers happily. Something about it seems almost familiar-

“Sora!” A ball of black dives at them, and Vanitas jumps back just in time to avoid gaining a few new scars from the wicked talons that now place themselves between him and the smaller bird. A black bird man about the same size as him glares threateningly, gold eyes narrowed in distrust. Vanitas looks between them.

Sora. He looks at the little brown bird again, noting the similarities. Sora doesn’t seem distressed or surprised at the interruption, in fact only leans forward to preen the black feathers and chirp happily. The bigger bird huffs.

“Yes I know you were just saying ‘hi’. You shouldn’t go running up to strangers!” He growls. Vanitas can’t help but agree on that one. This Sora must be young, small as he is.

Sora chirps again, insistent. The black bird scowls.

“Don’t you ‘but Vanitas’ me!”

Sora pouts. More chirping. The non-bird Vanitas wonders how the languages work here.

“Yes I know that’s how we met Comet- that’s different and you know it! No don’t you bring Riku and Kairi into this- Sora!”

Vanitas can’t help a sardonic chuckle at that. Sora was always Sora it seems, utterly incapable of not making friends. The bird Vanitas whips his head back toward him, scowling.

“You need something? This is our beach, why don’t you bug off.”

Sora scrambles forward before Vanitas can turn to leave though, grabbing his hand with tiny pointed wing talons. He chirps insistently. Bird Vanitas looks like he’s going to have a conniption. Van wonders how often  _ he’s _ looked like that.

“You can’t just bring him home because he looks sad- Sora no, I swear I will sit on you for a week if you don’t come back here right now.”

Does he really look that sad? Vanitas wonders, though Sora always did have a knack for seeing beneath the surface, and that seems to hold true no matter the universe.

“It’s fine.” Vanitas speaks finally. Sora tilts his head, seeming to pick up on how similar their voices were but unable to figure out why. “Hopefully I’m just passing through.”

Sora chirps, shakes his arm a little, and then looks up pleadingly at bird Vanitas.

The larger bird sighs.

“He wants to know where you’re passing through to.”

Vanitas tries to smile, a weak attempt to put the child at ease. He’s never been good at faking happiness.

“Home, I hope.”

Sora smiles though, hopping from one taloned foot to the other.

“Yeah, yeah, I hope he finds it too. C’mon.” Bird Vanitas tugs the chick away. Sora flutters his wings at Vanitas in a way he assumes must be a kind of wave, and the two flutter away.

Vanitas looks out into the ocean again.

“I guess they’re not all so bad.” He says to himself. The ocean waves say nothing but what they always do. He thinks of his Sora, his childhood home on the beach. He thinks of Comet, his ren, who is hopefully waiting for him to come home. Lea, Isa, Roxas and Xion. Naminé. Haru.

He’d built a family.

He wants to go back to it.

He blinks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and that's officially the end of this arc! obviously vanitas gets home just fine. who's ready for the next one?


End file.
